Elementary Electricity--Tricky Science Activities

Turn a plastic comb into a "magic wand" and explore the science of static electricity with these simple activities.

Here's What You Need:
a plastic comb
a piece of wool fabric (other materials work, too)
a teaspoon of salt
a teaspoon of ground black pepper
spoon


Here's What You Do:


Have your little one mix a spoonful of salt and a spoonful of pepper together in a separate bowl, or just on the table.

Rub the plastic comb vigorously with a piece of fabric; or your child can try rubbing the comb on the fabric of his or her clothing. Hold the comb about an inch above the salt/pepper combination.  The pepper will start to jump onto the comb!

*Variation:  Use small snippets of colored tissue paper instead of salt and pepper. The charged comb will lift the the tissue paper.

Why?  Every object is made up of atoms which contain electrons. Some electrons are negatively charged, some are positively charged, and some are neutral. Atoms usually have a balance of electrons. But when the comb is rubbed on the fabric, it becomes unbalanced with a negative charge.  When it is held above the salt and pepper, it is attracted to the positive charges in the pepper, (which is lighter than the salt)--and opposite charges attract, like magnets! The pepper or bits of tissue paper jump to the comb. 

Now bend a stream of water with your science magic!

Charge the comb by rubbing it vigorously on fabric, or combing it through clean hair at least ten times.  Turn on a faucet so there is a small stream of water, and hold the comb near the stream without touching it to the water. The negatively charged comb will pull the neutrally charged water toward it--the water appears to bend!

Rub a balloon on your head, and the same principle will make it stick to the wall, or your body!

Ice Fishing Game

Adam displays a fine catch!
(all photo credits:  Seth Chrisman)

Here's What You Need:

large bowl filled with water

ice cubes

container of salt

yarn

pencil, or wooden spoon

Here's What You Do:
Make a "fishing pole" by tying a foot-long length or yarn or string to a wooden spoon or pencil.
     

Add a couple dozen ice cubes to a large salad or pasta bowl filled with cold water. Place the empty small bowl near the bowl of ice.
     

Your fisherman chooses an ice cube and dangles the end of his or her yarn so that a half-inch or so is in contact with the cube.  Pour a bit of salt over the end of the yarn and the cube.  Wait a few moments, and then when the yarn is lifted gently, the cube will lift out of the water.

     See how many ice cube "fish" each player can lift and move to a smaller bowl during his or her turn. Ask the players what kind of fish they are catching.  Is it a salmon, trout or catfish?--Or maybe a shark or whale! 
     Salt melts the ice and it quickly re-freezes with the yarn.  The strategy lies in figuring out how much salt to use and how long to wait before lifting out the cube.  It will take a little experimenting!
Basic science vocabulary to introduce:
Matter:  anything that has weight and takes up space.  All matter is made up of tiny particles called molecules.
Liquid:  a substance that flows, like water.  The molecules move about freely.
Solid:  a substance that is stable, like ice cubes.  The molecules are tightly packed and don't move. Ice is the solid form of water.
Freeze:  When the temperature is so cold, a liquid substance becomes a solid.

Go Fish!

Apollo attracts an octopus with his magnetic fishing rod. (all photo credits:  Seth Chrisman)

This fishing game has endless variations, built-in teaching moments and lots of fun!  You can talk about sea-life, magnets, and the sport or occupation of fishing.  Your child will exercise skill, strategy, judgement and perseverance.  You can "fish" inside or outdoors, weather permitting.  It can be done with one child or many.  When I brought out the wading pool and told Apollo we were going fishing, he said "I'll go turn on the water hose."  No water required for these fish though--the secret to the catch is magnetism!


Here's What You Need:


Colored paper
scissors
roll of stick on magnets (I found mine at Jo-Ann Fabrics) Alternately, you can just attach a small magnet for each fishing pole)
paper clips (jumbo works best)
implement for fishing pole (examples: bamboo sticks, wooden spoons, ruler, yard stick)
string or yarn


Optional:  wading pool, cardboard box--anything to serve as the lake, or ocean. You could use a blue blanket to make a pond or river on the floor.


Here's What You Do:


Cut fish and sea life designs from colored paper.  You can go free hand, or use this template:  Fish Template


If you found the stick-on magnet strips, you can cut a small piece and stick it on each fish.  If not, simply put a paper clip on each shape.


Tie a piece of yarn or string to one end of each pole, and attach a magnet at the other end.


Put the fish, magnet side up, (or any way with the paper clip) on the floor or in the wading pool or your "ocean."


Give each child a fishing pole, and let the fun begin!

Apollo and Sunshine snagged the same fish!

Click on the link below to listen to one of my favorite songs featuring a variety of fish (the kids LOVE this one!)


"Octopus" by Charlotte Diamond

Related Books:

By Franklyn M. Bramley

By Lois Ehlert

By JoAnne Pastel and Kakie Fitzsimmons

By Lucy Cousins

Hoop Gliders--a twist on the paper airplane

Photo credit: Seth Chrisman
A drinking straw and paper combine to make
an easy version of the paper airplane

Here's What You Need:

a straight drinking straw

construction paper

scissors

tape

Here's What You Do:

*Cut two strips of paper,  (we used colored construction paper)  One strip is 1" wide and 10" long--one is 1" wide and 5" long.

*Make a hoop with the long strip and tape it to one end of the straw.  Make a hoop with the shorter strip and tape it to the other end of the straw.

To Launch:

Hold the glider in the middle of the straw with the smaller hoop pointing forward.  Gently throw the glider with a slight angle up.  Keep trying!  Sometimes it glides very well and sometimes it crashes too soon.  If you tried to throw the straw alone, it would simply fall to the ground--but the hoops act as wings and when the air moves beneath them, your glider floats in the air!

Bubble magic

Oliver and Pearl use the solution they concocted to blow amazing bubbles! photo credits:  Seth Chrisman

Have a little chemistry experiment by mixing up your own bubble solution:

Here's What You Need:

1 gallon water

2/3 cup hand dishwashing liquid, such as Joy or Dawn

2 to 3 tablespoons of glycerin (look in the laxative section of a drug store)

     

Here's What You Do:

Mix together in a large bowl or bucket.  Use pipe-cleaners twisted into shapes as your bubble wand, and try other implements such as cookie cutters, or yogurt lids with the center cut out. Show your child how to blow very gently, or waft the wand through the air to release the bubbles. The solution tends to become stronger by the next day, so try the bubbles two days in a row and see if they are easier to create the second time.

Leah Stevenson gazes at the perfect bubble she created--in the palm of her hand!

Bubble solution II:

1 cup dawn dishwashing liquid

3 cups water

a little less than 1/2 cup light corn syrup

1 gallon container with a tight-fitting lid

     

Mix the above ingredients in a container with a lid.  Shake and let settle for four hours.  

Basic Science Vocabulary Words:

Matter:  anything that has weight and takes up space.  Air is matter, even though we can't see it--the bubbles float in the air.

Liquid:  a substance that flows, like water  (molecules are moving freely about)

Mix:  combining substances together.

Solution:  the end product when more than one substance is mixed together, such as the bubble solution.

Float: to rest or move on the liquid or the air--the bubbles will float in the air.

Ocean in a Bottle

Waves of color.....

Here's What You Need:

*clear plastic bottle with cap

*water

*food coloring

*vegetable oil or baby oil

*masking tape

Here's What you Do:

Fill the bottle about 1/3 full with tap water.  Add some food coloring--blue to make "ocean waves."

Fill the rest of the bottle up with oil.  Screw the cap on securely and tape with masking tape.

Swirl the bottle and notice the results!  Give it a good shaking and the substances will seem to combine for awhile.

Why?

Water mixes with many things, but not oil!  When you put them together in the same container they remain separate.  This makes them insoluble.  If you shake the bottle they seem to combine for awhile, because the oil breaks up into tiny oil globs and is suspended in the water temporarily--in this state it is called an emulsion. As the bottle sits, the two substances completely separate again.  

Take it Further:

If you remove the masking tape and add a bit of sand to the bottle, it will sink to the bottom--because it has more density than the water or oil.  You can experiment by adding different material to the bottle and asking your child what they think will happen.  What happens if you add a styrofoam peanut? Will is sink or float--which is more dense? What about a rock?  

Marshmallow Tower

This open-ended building project works very well for preschoolers using colorful bendy straws or tinker toys as connectors......

....as well as for older students studying mathematics and engineering.  Try using dry fettucine or spaghetti as connectors for bigger kids.


Here's What You Need:


Marshmallows (stale ones actually work best!--but fresh will do) try different sizes and you may even be able to find colorful fruit-flavored ones.


Straws, bendy or other, colorful or plain. The sticks from Tinker Toys work, too!


Blunt scissors to cut the straws to different lengths.


Dry fettucini or spaghetti for older kids.


Lots of imagination!


Here's What You Do:


Let your kids build it any which way they want to!  Try to avoid the temptation to step in and help them or try to "make it look like something."  Creativity and confidence will be unleashed the more the children do projects independently.  My mantra is:  "it's the process, not the product!" Helping spark ideas is fine, of course.  One pre-school boy loved firefighters, so his mom suggested building a fire station.  (she let him do the actual building though.)  He spent hours constructing it and bringing in his action figure firefighters to work in the building!

¡Flubber Fantastico!

It's a classic!  And I'm sure it must account for at least 97% of sales for Borax. What could be more fun than smooshing and dripping this flexible goop? It's something in between a solid and a liquid.

Here's what you need:  

1 teaspoon borax (in the laundry section)

1 cup water

1 small bowl

a small bowl or cup for each child

spoon, or popsicle sticks for stirring (per child)

2 tablespoons white glue (per child)

food coloring

Here's What You Do:

*Measure the borax and the water into one of the bowls and your child can stir with a spoon or popsicle stick until the borax is dissolved.

*In each child's separate bowl, measure the white glue and add a few drops of food coloring.

*Add 1 tablespoon of the borax and water mixture to the colored glue mixture and have your child stir well.  Magic happens here!

*Take the mixture out of the bowl and knead it in your hands.

What Happened?

You have just created a type of plastic! The molecules in plastics are made up of long chains of molecules called polymers. When these polymer chains are joined they become very strong.  Some plastics are hard, like a bike helmet--or very soft and pliable--like your flubber. 

Basic Science Vocabulary: 

Molecule: the smallest part of a substance that has all the properties of the substance.

Dissolve: one substance, (such as borax breaking apart) and going into another substance, (such as the water) and making a solution.
Chemical Reaction: when two or more chemicals (in this experiment the water, glue and borax) are combined and the combination creates a new substance.

Polymer:  a plastic substance made up of long chains of molecules.

Salt Crystal Observation...watch them grow!

  Pipe cleaner salt crystal designs.

Materials:

pipe cleaners

clear cup or jam jar

1/2 cup hot water (Be careful! Adult helps with this part)

1/3 cup salt

spoon

pencil string

food coloring (optional)

• Bend a pipe cleaner into any shape you like.
• Carefully pour the very hot water into the clear cup (1/2 cup per cup). Add a few drops of food coloring if desired.
• Mix in 1/3 cup salt just one spoonful at a time--stir and dissolve after each spoonful.  Keep adding salt until no more will dissolve.
• Wrap one end of the pipe cleaner around the middle of a pencil.
• Set the pencil across the top of the cup.  Make sure that the pipe cleaner hangs down into the salty, hot water.

• Place your crystal growing cup into a place where it will not be disturbed and where you'll be able to check on it often.
• You'll have to be patient!  It will take a few hours for the signs of the growing crystals to show up on the pipe cleaner.
• Observe the crystals and see how they change each day.  When most of the solution is evaporated from the cup, remove the pipe cleaner and slide it off the pencil.  You can tie it to a piece of yarn and use it as a beautiful, sparkly ornament.

Did you know that before the salt in your salt shaker is ground into tiny little specks it actually looks like this?  

This is a large crystal 

chunk of salt

How did the experiment work?

When you dissolve the salt into the hot water, the tiny salt crystal molecules are spread apart and are mixed up with the water.  As the water evaporates, the salt molecules line up in a regular pattern to become a crystal again, clinging to the pipe cleaner.

Basic Science Vocabulary:

Molecule: the smallest part of a substance that has all the properties of the substance.

Dissolve: one substance, (such as salt molecules breaking apart) and going into another substance, (such as the water) and making a solution.

Evaporate:  the process of a liquid changing into a gas. 

Crystal:  a substance in which the molecules are packed into a orderly, three-dimensional pattern. Most crystals are solids---salt and sugar are both good examples of crystals.

adapted from Science Arts by MaryAnn F. Kohl and Jean Potter

A Little Science, at Snacktime......

Dancing Raisins Experiment

Materials:

tap water

clear glass, jar, or plastic cup

several raisins

spoon

2 tablespoons baking soda

2 tablespoons vinegar

Fill the cup 3/4 of the way with water. Drop the raisins into the cup. Stir the baking soda into the water until it is dissolved.  (This is a great time for your young scientist to practice measuring because the quantities don't have to be as exact as for baking) Now add the vinegar and watch what happens!

You've just created a chemical reaction--which gives the raisins energy to dance!  In the plain water, the raisins sink to the bottom, because they are heavier than the liquid.  When the baking soda is added and dissolved, the raisins still stay at the bottom.  But, when you add the vinegar, the solution creates carbon dioxide gas.  When the gas bubbles bump into the raisins, they attach to the outside of the raisins and help them float to the surface.  The combination of a carbon dioxide gas bubble and a raisin is lighter weight than the water, so they rise to the top.  When the bubble pops, the raisin floats back down to the bottom again.

And there you have it--dancing raisins!

Basic Science Vocabulary

liquid: One of the three states of matter: a substance that flows, rather than a solid or a gas.

chemical reaction: When two or more chemicals (substances--in this experiment the baking soda and vinegar) are combined and the combination creates a new substance.

carbon dioxide:  gas composed of carbon and oxygen.

energy: ability to do work (like dancing!)

Easy Egg Float Experiment

If you’re lucky enough to take a swim at the seashore or in the Great Salt Lake in Utah, you can do this experiment first and then you can answer this question:

“Why is it Easier to Float in the Ocean Than in a Swimming Pool?”*

Materials:

2 clear plastic bowls

tap water

blue food coloring

10 tablespoons salt

spoon

2 eggs

• Fill both plastic bowls half way with tap water. 
• Add a few drops of food coloring to the water in one bowl.
• Mix the salt into the colored water. (this is your “ocean” bowl).
• Stir until the salt is all or mostly dissolved.
• Place an egg in each bowl of water.  

What happens to the eggs?

Explanation:

Ideally, the egg in the salt water had buoyancy, (or floated) but the egg in the fresh water sank to the bottom.  If the egg in the salt water did not float, keep adding salt to the water until it does.

Salt water is denser than fresh water. (the molecules in the salt-water solution are packed closer together)  The egg floated, or had buoyancy because the density of the egg was less than the density of the salt water.  It is easier for your body to float or become buoyant in the ocean than in fresh water for the same reason.  The ocean is full of salt, so it is denser than fresh water.

Basic Science Vocabulary:

Dense:  having tiny parts (molecules) that are very close together.

Solution:  two or more substances that are close together.  The salt and water mixed together make a solution.

Buoyancy:  ability of an object to stay afloat.

*from Nature in a Nutshell for Kids, by Jean Potter.