Activities | Science Buddies Blog (Page 15)

August 20, 2015 11:57 AM

How do engineers ensure that bridges and other structures can support weight properly so that they don't collapse? In this week's materials science-themed family science activity, families can use uncooked spaghetti noodles to explore the forces that come into play when weight is applied to a beam. What happens when the spaghetti bends in response to weight? If the noodles break, where do they break? Was the breakage the result of compression or tension? Does using more pieces of… Read more

Seed Dispersal Science: Carried by the Wind

August 7, 2015 10:00 AM

Explore the ways in which the shape and size of a seed influences how far it may travel when carried or blown by wind. What characteristics help seeds travel long distances by wind? Photo: Ragesoss, Wikimedia Commons If you hold a dandelion to your lips and blow, the seeds scatter through the air. This scattering, also called dispersal, helps distribute seeds which helps plants reproduce. Wind can carry seeds away from their plants, but how far a seed… Read more

The Science of a Very Long Straw

July 30, 2015 8:30 AM

Explore atmospheric pressure by making and drinking from a very long straw in this week's science activity spotlight. Can a straw be too tall? Can you use a really tall straw? Your straw needs to be long enough to reach both the liquid you are drinking and your mouth, so it generally needs to be just a bit taller than the cup. Most straws are about the same size. There are some bigger ones, of course, that match up to larger cups you might order in a… Read more

Make a Lemon Battery

July 24, 2015 7:00 AM

Explore electricity with a homemade battery in this week's science activity spotlight. Ever wondered how a battery works to store and generate electricity? With a lemon, a penny, some plastic coated paper clips, and aluminum foil, you can make a fruit-powered battery and really see how the process works! What kinds of materials conduct electricity? What about a lemon makes it capable of producing electricity? The power from a lemon isn't going to be… Read more

Popsicle Trusses

July 14, 2015 4:19 PM

Does the shape beams make when they come together make a difference in their strength? Beams in civil engineering have an important role to play in ensuring a building or bridge stands up, supports the weight it should, and doesn't bend or collapse under normal use. In this week's family science project, students and families use popsicle sticks and binder clips to investigate the relationship between the shape of trusses in a building and their strength. Popsicle Stick Trusses:… Read more

Whirly Bird Aerodynamics

July 9, 2015 12:00 PM

How does a helicopter stay in the air? In this week's aerodynamics-themed family science activity, students can learn more about helicopters by making and testing simple miniature paper helicopters or whirly birds. Paper whirly birds don't have any mechanical parts, but their structure helps kids better understand how the blades on a helicopter function. What do principles of lift and drag have to do with the spinning of a helicopter's blades? What happens if you add… Read more

Explore Magnification with a Drop of Water: Weekly Science Spotlight

July 2, 2015 9:00 AM

What happens when you look through water at something below it? Does the object (or image) appear larger? Does it appear smaller? How much larger or smaller? It may depend on the shape of the water. Viewing something through a drop of water may make the object or image appear larger. Viewing through a layer of water in a container like a cup, on the other hand, may have a different effect because the curvature of the water is different. (The size of the drop of water may also make a… Read more

Measuring Surface Tension with a Penny: Weekly Science Spotlight

June 29, 2015 8:00 AM

What makes drops of water on a penny appear to pool together on the top of the penny as a large drop rather than run over the sides? Attraction of the water molecules holds the surface of the water together until the amount of water is too great and spills over the edge. This attraction results in surface tension—something we can see visually in the way the droplet may seem to hold together as a jiggly whole rather than flowing freely over the edges of a surface. You can see surface… Read more

Splitting Ink: Marker Chromatography

June 25, 2015 8:00 AM

Use paper chromatography to explore the colors used to make different colors of marker ink! What color dyes are in your favorite marker ink? Try paper chromatography to find out! What color dye molecules are combined to make your favorite marker color? From creating with paint or colored pencils, you probably know that mixing certain colors makes predictable colors. Blue and red makes purple, for example. But what color molecules are used in a purple… Read more

Golden Rules of Photography: Family Science Spotlight

June 18, 2015 12:30 PM

Try this hands-on science experiment to learn about the golden rules of photography and improve your photo compositions. When you take a photo, do you put the subject right in the center? What happens to the same photo if you move the subject to the right of the frame, or to the left? These are questions a photographer asks herself every time she gets ready to snap a photo. Where should the subject "go" in the frame? In making this decision, a… Read more

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