Kids can try it at home with scrap paper, scissors, and tape. It’s very adaptable for different ages and abilities.
Watch the video to see what happens. Try it yourself.
Keep track of the number of twists before you tape the paper to find the pattern for how many twists results in how many loops.
It’s fascinating for both children and grownups!
You might be familiar with the activity that moves your hair even if no one is touching it! Simply rub a balloon on a soft paper towel, cotton or wool shirt, and bring it near a person’s hair.
It helps if the person has fine hair, my husband’s is GREAT so I often draft him for this demonstration. He just loves it! ????
If you want more suggestions for playing around with static electricity while we wait out this virus event, here are suggestions from the Exploratorium.
Enjoy!
I recently posted suggestions from Steve Spangler for bubbles.
My niece called for a bubble recipe as she played with her almost two-year old son and I thought it can be such a fun activity I’d find more resources for you.
Just like my last blog, my source is the Exploratorium Museum
I listed activities from simple materials to uncommon materials like dry ice.
One of my favorite science museums in the world is the Exploratorium in San Francisco.
They have been very generous and posted what they call snacks that feature simpler ways of creating many of the displays you’ll find at their fabulous museum.
I would like to share a few with you that focus on the topic of light.
Try out a few activities that feature sound.
Singing Glasses – make a stemmed glass “sing”
Screaming Cup – Use a piece of string to make a cup “scream”.
Water Whistle – Use a glass of water and a cut straw to make a “whistle”.
Short videos make it easy to see the science in each activity.
Here’s the fifth in a series of fun, at home resources
I want to share from SteveSpanglerScience.com.
He’s posting fifty experiments for fifty days starting yesterday 3/23/20. Check them out!
I picked activities that worked for a variety
of ages and with simple materials you might find at home.
I suggest many extensions to challenge
kids as they do science (and make the activity
take a bit longer).
Use sleeves from take out coffee OR scraps of paper to make an optical illusion.
Stare at an image and when you look away you’ll see something very different.
Create an illusion of a pumpkin and then use an image you choose to create a new illusion.
Use wet gloves to bounce bubbles!
Create bubbles inside bubbles!
If you have the supplies you might create bubble cubes or bubbles snakes.
Lots of bubble ideas!!
Try a few activities with water.
You’ll need a wrapped straw, a few toothpicks, and a penny.
It helps if you have an eyedropper, too!
Enjoy!
What to do with kiddos who are
suddenly at home for a week or two?
Check out these GREAT activities from
SteveSpanglerScience.com,
an amazing site that lets you read
about and then watch simple activities.*