Free Science Experiments

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Our Top Science Fair Projects

Cornstarch experiment	This science experiment is very cool!!!
Floating vs. Non-floating pop cans	Why do some cans of pop float in water while others sink? This simple science experiment will help explain this.
Floating Magnets	See magnets actually float on top of each other.
Super High Flying Balls	Use your knowledge of force and gravity to make balls fly even higher!
Pop Bottle Science	Make a normal Ketchup packet sink and float just by squeezing the pop bottle
Plasma Ball Science	This experiment is sure to light up your day
Powered Skateboard	Use the power of pressure to skate like never before
Incredible Inflating Trash Bag	The easy way to inflate a large trash bag, should the need ever arise!
Polarized Sunglasses	See light in a whole new light
Your Credit Cards Other Face	See security images on your (or your parents) credit card *New*
The Peanut Crusher	Use pressure to crush packing peanuts *New*

Cornstarch experiment:

Preparing for the project-
1.) Cornstarch (about a cup or two)
2.) Water

What to do-
It may be a bit tricky getting the mixture just right the first time, but trust me it is well worth the effort! You will need to put the cornstarch in a mixing bowl. Next add water, VERY SLOWLY, keep adding water and stirring the mixture until you notice something happening. What you should notice is that the mixture gets very hard to stir. In fact even if you tip the bowl the mixture may not move. Try pinching some of the mixture between your fingers, it becomes a solid. Try to take some to a safe location and hit it with a hammer or hard ball see what happens.

What is going on?
When the cornstarch and water are combined in the right mixture it has a very special viscosity. Viscosity is a term to describe how easily a liquid flows. This mixture is unique because you can change the viscosity by varying the pressure. The pressure is varied by the spoon, pinching it, or hitting it, this causes it to change to a solid state until the pressure returns to normal. See, I told you this one was very cool!

Plasma Ball Science:

Preparing for the project-
1.) Plasma Ball (you can get one here)
2.) Florescent light bulb (short)

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What to do-
Be very careful with the light bulb! Hold the light bulb next to the plasma ball, it should glow! Try making a circuit by having the first person put their hand on the plasma ball, with the other hand hold the light bulb out so that a friend can grab the other end of the bulb. Important: be sure that the only thing your friend is touching is the light bulb.

What is going on?
The Plasma Ball is powered by a Tesla Coil. The Tesla Coil emits a high frequency / high voltage electromagnetic field. This energy causes nearby gasses to glow. The plasma ball is filled with special gasses which allow you to see purple streamers. The florescent light bulb has gas in it as well. So, when the light bulb is close enough to the Tesla Coil, the gas inside the bulb will begin to glow. Do you know why the florescent bulb is brighter when you and a friend make the light bulb circuit?

Pop Bottle Diver:

Preparing for the project-
1.) Empty 1 Liter pop bottle (go ahead, drink the pop in the name of science)
2.) Ketchup packet from fast food restaurant (good time to go out to eat as well)

What to do-
Rinse out the empty pop bottle. Now fill it with plain tap water and put in the unopened Ketchup packet into the bottle. So, don't open the packet or the experiment won't work. Next, put the cap back on the pop bottle. Now here is the fun part. Squeeze the bottle as hard as you can. Do you notice anything? You should see the packet inside the bottle sink to the bottom. If you are having trouble getting it to sink, then just try another packet (maybe mustard)! EXTRA: Some fruits may work as well.

What is going on?
The packet has an air bubble trapped inside of it. As you squeeze the bottle, the air is compressed and the packet sinks because it becomes more dense then the water.

"Lite" Pop Experiment:

Preparing for the project-
1.) 5 gallon bucket filled with water
2.) Different kinds of pop, Diet and Regular

What to do-
After filling the 5 gallon bucket with water place the unopened pop cans into the water. Notice something?

What is going on?
Diet pop does not contain sugar, instead it contains a sweetener. The sweetener is naturally lighter then sugar. Regular pop, with all of it's sugar is heavier (more dense) then water, so it sinks. Diet pop, with sweetener, is lighter (less dense) then water so it will float.

Powered Skateboard:

Preparing for the project-
1.) Skateboard
2.) Leaf blower (with extension cord)

What to do-
Sit backwards on the skateboard on a flat smooth surface away from the cars or the road. Hold the leaf blower in your
lap facing away from you and turn it on. You should notice the skateboard begin to move on it's own.

What is going on?
The air from the blower is pushing you. This is a great example of Newton's 3rd law, which states that all reactions have an
equal and opposite reaction.

Levitating Magnets:

Preparing for the project-
1.) Donut hole magnets (these can be found at your local hobby shop)
2.) A regular pen used for writing.

What to do-
Place magnets onto the pen making sure to place like poles of the magnet facing each other so they repel. Then place the pen vertical onto a flat surface. You should notice the magnets floating on top of one another.

What is going on?
Magnets have a north and south pole. When the opposite poles are facing each other the magnets come together. However, when the same pole are facing each other the magnets repel. The pen prevents the magnets from "flipping" upside down and this allows them to float on top of one another.

Super High Flying Ball:

Preparing for the project-
1.) Basketball
2.) Tennis ball

What to do-
Hold the basketball at shoulder height and with your other hand hold the tennis ball directly on top of the basketball. Ready, set, bounce! Drop both balls at the same time. You should see the tennis ball bounce off the basketball and go flying through the air.

What is going on?
The basketball hits the ground, but wait there's more! The ground also hits the basketball giving it the energy for a 'bounce'.
The tennis ball hits the top of the basketball, which hit the ground. The energy from the basketball is transferred to the tennis ball giving it lots of energy for a really high bounce. If you just drop the basketball you may notice that it bounces higher, then when you add the tennis ball. On the other hand, if you drop the tennis ball you might notice, that it does not go as high as when you dropped both balls together!

Incredible Inflating Trash Bag:

Preparing for the project-
1.) New Trash Bag
2.) Your Lungs!

What to do-
Try blowing up the trash bag. How many breaths does it take? Now try the easy way, hold the trash bag about 6-8 inches away from your face. Take a deep breath and blow into the bag, notice any difference?

What is going on?
When you have your mouth right against the trash bag it will take you along time to inflate the bag, as the bags volume capacity is many times the capacity of your lungs. When you hold the bag away from your face you create a high pressure air stream. As you blow into the bag it takes some of the surrounding air with it; therefore, causing the bag to inflate very quickly with little effort.

Polarized Sunglasses:

Preparing for the project-
1.) An OLD pair of sunglasses that you do not need anymore (these sunglasses must be "polarized") a lot of fishing sunglasses are polarized!

What to do-
Have an adult take the two lenses out of the OLD sunglasses (be careful). Once the lenses are out place them so they are back to back. When you rotate the two lenses in opposite directions you should notice something happening.

What is going on?
The lenses are polarized-what does this mean? Basically the lenses have tiny slits in them which allow only a certain direction of light through. So, when the lenses (slits) are turned so that they are facing opposite directions ( --- and |||) they do not allow any light to get through.

Your Credit Cards Other Face:

Preparing for the project-
1.) Any Credit Card
2.) A black light

What to do-
Take your credit card (kids remember to ask permission) and hold it under a black light. Do you notice anything? It should be glowing at you!

What is going on?
Credit card companies imprint their logo on the credit card to help prevent credit card fraud. This imprint is invisible to the unaided eye. Under a black light the logo will fluoresce or glow. Fluorescence is created at the atomic level, the black light emits ultraviolet (UV) light, this light energizes the electrons in these atoms. As the electrons get energized they move to another electron shell (yep, something you learned in school is actually used in real life), when the electron looses its energy it moves to a lower shell releasing its energy in the form of light!

The Peanut Crusher:

Preparing for the project-
1.) Packing Peanuts
2.) A Plastic Bottle (like a soda bottle)
3.) Pop Bottle Pressure Pump (helps keep used soda fizzy)

What to do-
Take the packing peanuts and stuff them into the plastic bottle being careful not to over fill, leave about 1/2 inches of free space at the top of the bottle. Next screw on the pressure pump and begin to pressurize the plastic pop bottle. What do you notice? Try tipping the pop bottle with the peanuts inside it what does it sound like, is it any different then before you pressurized it? Try using different types of packing peanuts.

What is going on?
Packing peanuts have a great deal of air inside them (that's what makes them so fluffy). By creating a higher atmospheric pressure inside the bottle, the air inside the peanuts becomes more condensed and the peanuts become more flat..