Experiments for Kids

HOW DOES IT WORK? The secret behind the lamp’s “lava” is science. Oil is lighter, or less dense, than water, so it rises to the surface. Salt is heavier, or more dense, than water, and sinks to the bottom. When you add the salt, blobs of oil attach to the grains and sink. Then the salt dissolves, and the oil returns to the top. The result? A liquid show for the eyes. YOU WILL NEED Clear jar with lid Water Food coloring Glitter Vegetable oil Salt Flashlight STEP ONE  Fill the jar three-quarters full of water. Add drops of food coloring until you like the color you see. A few drops go a long way! Sprinkle in glitter for extra sparkle. STEP TWO Fill the jar almost to the top with the oil and let the mixture separate. STEP THREE Pour salt into the jar until you see the cool lava lamp effect. When the bubbles stop, add m

What Can I Make? That's up to you! First, load up a computer program or any webpage. Let's say you load up a piano. Then, instead of using the computer keyboard buttons to play the piano, you can hook up the Makey Makey to something fun, like bananas, and the  bananas become your piano keys   Or let's say you Google for an online Pacman game and draw a joystick with a pencil:    Then you can play Pacman by touching the drawing.  Or you could load up facebook or gmail and send a message on a custom-made alphabet-soup keyboard:    What's Makey Makey? Makey Makey is  an invention kit for the 21st century . Turn everyday objects into touchpads and combine them with the internet. It's  a simple Invention Kit for Beginners and Experts  doing art, engineering, and everything inbetween:    The kit will include everything you see above: Makey Makey, Alligator Clips, USB Cable.  How Does it Work? Alligator Clip two objects to the Makey Makey board.

EXPERIMENT 1 Use a kitchen knife to cut a penny-sized slit in all four lemons. 2 Insert a penny halfway into each of the four slits you cut. 3 Push a zinc-galvanized nail into each of the lemons, opposite the penny. Don’t let the nail and penny touch in or out of the lemon. 4 Use a set of alligator clips to connect a nail on one lemon to a penny on another lemon. 5 Connect all four lemons together with alligator clips. Each set of alligator clips should connect a nail to a penny. 6 Connect one of the last alligator clips to the only open penny. 7 Connect the other clip to the only open – duh! – nail. Now you have two unused clips on two separate alligator clips. You know what to do! 8 Attach the two loose alligator clips to the LED. Check it out! The chemical energy in the lemons has been used to power the LED with electrical e

EXPERIMENT 1 1 Pour approximately one-quarter of the box (about 4 ounces) of cornstarch into the mixing bowl and slowly add about  1 / 2  cup of water. Stir. Sometimes it is easier (and more fun!) to mix the cornstarch and water with your bare hands. 2 Continue adding cornstarch and water in small amounts until you get a mixture that has the consistency of honey. It may take a little work to get the consistency just right, but you will eventually end up mixing one box of cornstarch with roughly 1 to 2 cups of water. As a general rule of thumb, you’re looking for a mixture of roughly ten parts cornstarch to one part water. Notice that the mixture gets thicker, or more viscous, as you add more cornstarch. 3 Sink your hand into the bowl of “quicksand” and notice its unusual consistency. Compare what it feels like to move your hand around slowly and then very quickly. You can’t move your hand around very fast. In fact, the faster you

Density differences cause objects to “float” in liquids that are already stacked on top of each other. With this science-magic trick, you’ll put a new spin on our famous Density Column demonstration. First, you’ll discover how to stack nine layers of liquids on top of each other. That alone looks really cool, but then you take it up a notch by making different solid objects “float” in the middle of all those cool looking stacked liquids. You’ll surprise yourself and your friends with what you can do with the 9-Layer Density Tower. EXPERIMENT Pour equal amounts of each liquid in the cups. All the amounts must be the same. You may want to set the cups in the order you’ll add them into the container: honey, corn syrup, maple syrup, whole milk, dish soap, water, vegetable oil, rubbing alcohol, and lamp oil. Add food coloring to the water and the rubbing alcohol for contrast so they stand out in the finished column. Start your column by pouring the honey into the cyl

Use baking soda and vinegar to create an awesome chemical reaction! Watch as it rapidly fizzes over the container and make sure you've got some towels ready to clean up. What you'll need: Baking Soda (make sure it's not baking powder) Vinegar A container to hold everything and avoid a big mess! Paper towels or a cloth (just in case) Instructions: Place some of the baking soda into your container. Pour in some of the vinegar Watch as the reaction takes place! What's happening? The baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is a base while the vinegar (acetic acid) is an acid. When they react together they form carbonic acid which is very unstable, it instantly breaks apart into water and carbon dioxide, which creates all the fizzing as it escapes the solution. For extra effect you can make a realistic looking volcano. It takes some craft skills but it will make your vinegar and baking soda eruptions will look even more impressive!      

First get permission to use kitchen equipment and eggs. YOU WILL NEED One raw egg Vinegar Large bowl First get permission to use kitchen equipment and eggs. YOU WILL NEED One raw egg Vinegar Large bowl First get permission to use kitchen equipment and eggs. YOU WILL NEED One raw egg Vinegar Large bowl First get permission to use kitchen equipment and eggs. YOU WILL NEED One raw egg Vinegar Large bowl First get permission to use kitchen equipment and eggs. YOU WILL NEED One raw egg Vinegar Large bowl First get permission to use kitchen equipment and eggs. YOU WILL NEED One raw egg Vinegar Large bowl First get permission to use kitchen equipment and eggs. YOU WILL NEED One raw egg Vinegar Large bowl First get permission to use kitchen equipment and eggs. YOU WILL NEED One raw egg Vinegar Large bowl First get permission to use kitchen equipment and eggs. YOU WILL NEED One raw egg Vinegar