Make a Tornado in a Bottle!!

Learn how to make a tornado in a bottle with this fun science experiment for kids.

What you'll need:

Water

A clear plastic bottle with a cap (that won't leak)

Glitter

Dish washing liquid

Instructions:

Fill the plastic bottle with water until it reaches around three quarters full.

Add a few drops of dish washing liquid.

Sprinkle in a few pinches of glitter (this will make your tornado easier to see).

Put the cap on tightly.

Turn the bottle upside down and hold it by the neck. Quickly spin the bottle in a circular motion for a few seconds, stop and look inside to see if you can see a mini tornado forming in the water. You might need to try it a few times before you get it working properly.

What's happening?

Spinning the bottle in a circular motion creates a water vortex that looks like a mini tornado. The water is rapidly spinning around the center of the vortex due to centripetal force (an inward force directing an object or fluid such as water towards the center of its circular path). Vortexes found in nature include tornadoes, hurricanes and waterspouts (a tornado that forms over water).

Make a Big Dry Ice Bubble!!!!!!!!

What you'll need:
Water
A large bowl with a lip around the top (a smaller bowl or cup will work too)
A strip of material or cloth
Soapy mixture for making bubbles (water and some dishwashing liquid should do the trick)
Dry ice - one piece for a cup, more for a bowl. Places where adults can buy dry ice include large grocery stores and Walmart. Butchers and ice cream stores might have some too.

Safety first! Be careful with dry ice as it can cause skin damage if not used safely. Adults should handle dry ice with gloves and avoid directly breathing in the vapor.



Instructions:
Place your dry ice in the bowl and add some water (it should start looking like a spooky cauldron).
Soak the material in your soapy mixture and run it around the lip of the bowl before dragging it across the top of the bowl to form a bubble layer over the dry ice.
Stand back and watch your bubble grow!



What's happening?

Dry ice is carbon dioxide (CO2) in its solid form. At temperatures above -56.4 °C (-69.5 °F), dry ice changes directly from a solid to a gas, without ever being a liquid. This process is called sublimation. When dry ice is put in water it accelerates the sublimation process, creating clouds of fog that fill up your dry ice bubble until the pressure becomes too much and the bubble explodes, spilling fog over the edge of the bowl. Dry ice is sometimes used as part of theater productions and performances to create a dense foggy effect. It is also used to preserve food, freeze lab samples and even to make ice cream

Earthquake Activity

Setting the Scene:


Imagine that there has just been a major earthquake in your city. Measuring 8.0 on the Richter Scale, it has caused a serious emergency situation.


A fire has broken out in a ten storey building. There are people stuck in the building who were working there when the earthquake hit and subsequent fire broke out. The road to the building is covered in rubble and there is also a broken down car blocking the way.


The earthquake has also caused a major landslide at the bottom of a nearby hill.
Your aim is to design and build vehicles from Lego (or equivalent building parts) that can be used to help overcome the problems faced after the earthquake.



Design & Build:


What kind of construction type vehicle might you need to move the landslide at the bottom of the hill? A digger.


What might you use to clear the rubble on the road to the burning building? A bulldozer or grader.


What type of vehicle will you need to remove the broken down car that is blocking the road? A tow-truck


How will you go about helping the people in the burning building, ie what sort of vehicle will you use to get there? A fire engine


How will you reach the people stuck high in the building? A ladder (remembering that it will need to be long enough to reach the people at the top of the building).


Have the students work in pairs as they design their vehicles, making sure that they both contribute ideas and work well together as a team.

Allow as much time as needed (or as much time is available) for the students to finish building their vehicles. Once finished, let them walk around and view other pairs work, as well as answer questions and demonstrate their own vehicles.

Make Glowing Water!!!!

Make glowing water with the help of a black light in this fun science experiment for kids.

Tonic water doesn't look very strange under normal light but what happens when you look at it under a black light? Does the dye from a highlighter pen do the same thing? Find out what happens and why it happens with this cool experiment that you can do at home.

What you'll need:

• A black light (you can find them at places like Walmart and hardware stores, as well as online stores like Amazon).
• Tonic water or a highlighter pen.
• A dark room to do the experiment.

Instructions:

1. If you are using a highlighter pen carefully break it open, remove the felt and soak it in a small amount of water for a few minutes.
2. Find a dark room.
3. Turn on the black light near your water, how does it look?

What's happening?

Simple explanation:

The ultra violet (UV) light coming from your black light lamp excites things called phosphors. Tonic water and the dye from highlighter pens contain phosphors that turn UV light (light we can’t see) into visible light (light we can see). That’s why your water glows in the dark when you shine a black light on it.

Black lights are used in forensic science, artistic performances, photography, authentication of banknotes and antiques, and in many other areas.

Detailed explanation:

Black light (also known as UV or ultra violet light) is a part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The electromagnetic spectrum also includes infrared, X-rays, visible light (what the human eye can see) and other types of electromagnetic radiation. A black light lamp such as the one you used emits a UV light that can illuminate objects and materials that contain phosphors. Phosphors are special substances that emit light (luminescence) when excited by radiation. Your water glowed under the black light because it contained phosphors. If you used a highlighter pen then the UV light reacted with phosphors in the dye. If you used tonic water then the UV light reacted with phosphors in a chemical used in tonic water called quinine.

There are different types of luminescence, they include fluorescence (used in this experiment, it glows only when the black light is on), phosphorescence (similar to fluorescence but with a glow that can last even after the black light is turned off), chemiluminescence (used to create glow sticks), bioluminescence (from living organisms) and many others.

Design and Test a Parachute!!!!

What you'll need:
A plastic bag or light material
Scissors
String
A small object to act as the weight, a little action figure would be perfect



Instructions:
Cut out a large square from your plastic bag or material.
Trim the edges so it looks like an octagon (an eight sided shape).
Cut a small whole near the edge of each side.
Attach 8 pieces of string of the same length to each of the holes.
Tie the pieces of string to the object you are using as a weight.
Use a chair or find a high spot to drop your parachute and test how well it worked, remember that you want it to drop as slow as possible.



What's happening?

Hopefully your parachute will descend slowly to the ground, giving your weight a comfortable landing. When you release the parachute the weight pulls down on the strings and opens up a large surface area of material that uses air resistance to slow it down. The larger the surface area the more air resistance and the slower the parachute will drop.

Cutting a small hole in the middle of the parachute will allow air to slowly pass through it rather than spilling out over one side, this should help the parachute fall straighter.

Learn about air resistance while making an awesome parachute! Design one that can fall slowly to the ground before putting it to the test, making modifications as you go.

Make Lemonade Fizzy Drink

There's a lot of people out there that like drinking fizzy drinks, so why not do a fun science experiment that leaves you with your own lemon soda to drink afterwards!

What you'll need:
Lemon
Drinking glass
Water
1 teaspoon of baking soda
Some sugar to make it sweet.

Instructions:
Squeeze as much of the juice from the lemon as you can into the glass.
Pour in an equal amount of water as lemon juice.
Stir in the teaspoon of baking soda.
Give the mixture a taste and add in some sugar if you think it needs to be sweeter.

JOKE OF THE DAY!

A guy goes to see his doctor, and the doctor says, "Well, I'm afraid you have six weeks to live." The guy says, "Oh damn, well what should I do doctor?" The doctor tells him, "You should take a mud bath once a day for the next six weeks," and the guy asks, "Why? Is that supposed to help?" and the doctor says, "No, but it'll get you used to being in the ground."

RUNES FROM "THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS"

STORY TELLING!

LET NOT OTHERS EXPLOIT YOUR GENTLENESS
MORAL STORIES

Once a wolf saw a goat atop a hill and said, "Come down here, Miss Goat! The grass here is greener and longer."

"Thank You," answered the goat, "the grass down there may be much better. But, if I come down you will get a good meal. So, I prefer to stay here - where you can't reach. At least I am quite safe."
MORAL : Let not others exploit your gentleness.

STORY TELLING!

PRIDE HATH A FALL

MORAL STORY

The Oak tree always thought that he was far stronger than the reeds. He said to himself "I stand upright in a storm. I don't bend my head in fear every time the wind blows. But these reeds are really so weak."

That very night blew a storm and the mighty oak tree was uprooted.

"Good God!" sighed the reeds, "our way is better. We bend but we don't break."
MORAL : Pride hath a fall