Activities | Science Buddies Blog (Page 18)

Musical Bottles: Weekly Science Activity

November 19, 2014 6:00 AM

In this week's spotlight: a music-themed science activity that helps families explore the relationship between the sound an instrument like a clarinet makes and the length of the air column. When a sound wave travels down a longer or shorter distance, how does what we hear change? In this activity, students use glass bottles filled with differing amounts of liquid to experiment. With some careful listening and trial and error, you might be able to play a song by blowing on the bottles in a… Read more

The Speed of Falling: Weekly Science Activity

November 6, 2014 9:23 AM

In this week's spotlight: a physics science activity that helps families see gravity, acceleration, and speed in action. Gravity exerts force upon an object, but what does this mean in terms of how fast something falls? Does the speed of falling change based on how far something falls? Using a simple marble run, you can put these questions to the test and see how gravity's constant acceleration affects the distance that an object travels over time. (You can see how this works when riding a… Read more

Sounds Like Halloween: Weekly Science Activity

October 30, 2014 10:30 AM

In this week's spotlight: a music-themed science activity perfect for Halloween week. What sounds do you associate with Halloween movies or Halloween music? What makes the sounds spooky,scary, or eerie? When you watch movies, what kinds of music do you hear, and how does the music fit what is happening in the movie? Are there patterns of instruments, pitch, or tempo that accompany certain scenes in movies? Pull out your favorite Halloween family movies or playlists, put on your listening… Read more

Candy Corn Geodesic Dome

October 24, 2014 11:52 AM

A classic science (and geometry) project takes on Halloween tones with candy corn-colored candies, a few ordinary toothpicks, and a bunch of triangles. We are big fans in my house of the geodesic dome. We initially tried a bigger-than-expected version made from straws a few years ago. We had a great time putting it together—but it would not fit through the front door! Making a small-scale geodesic dome from gummy candies is a much easier and… Read more

Detective Science: Weekly Science Activity

October 23, 2014 9:15 AM

In this week's spotlight: a physics-focused science activity that helps families learn more about how forensic science can provide clues to solve crimes! Blood stains and spots at the scene of a crime can help detectives piece together what happened. In this activity, students use fake blood and investigate how blood stains change depending on the height from which the blood was dropped. It may sound gory, but there is interesting physics to explore! You and your family can explore the… Read more

Building a Halloween Brushbot: Family Robotics

October 21, 2014 11:00 AM

An orange scrub brush gives a family science activity a boost of jack-o-lantern-inspired fun and leads to a great robotics exploration. Ever since the new Brushbot family science activity launched at Science Buddies, with electronics components conveniently bundled in a multi-project kit, I have had it on my "must make" list for my kids. Thinking it would be cool to couple trick-or-treat month and the robotics project, I decided we would make a… Read more

Homemade Compass: Weekly Science Activity

September 4, 2014 9:30 AM

In this week's spotlight: a physics-focused family science activity that can help everyone in the family get a better sense of where you are—or in what direction you are heading. In this activity, students make a small, working compass using part of a cork, a needle, and a magnet. Once the compass is created, students can put it to the test. Does the direction the homemade compass points match up to what another navigational device or app says? Families can experiment with other… Read more

Tie-Dye Using Permanent Markers: Weekly Science Activity

August 28, 2014 8:00 AM

In this week's spotlight: a chemistry-focused family science and craft activity that lets students explore the concept of solubility while using permanent markers to decorate a T-shirt (or piece of fabric). Permanent markers are designed to be lasting, so what happens when you add water? What happens when you add alcohol? Does the marker ink react the same to both water and alcohol? Put these questions to the test in a fun hands-on science experiment. At the end of the project, students… Read more

New Bristlebot Science Kit for Student Robotics!

August 22, 2014 9:40 AM

Above: The Brushbot is one of the three robots kids can build using the Bristlebot Kit from the Science Buddies Store. A brand new Bristlebot Kit launched today in the Science Buddies Store. With this new kit, students can experiment with three styles of introductory robots and learn more about robotics engineering. The kit has been specially designed to make building the robots easier for students to do independently—and fun! The new Bristlebot Kit contains components for use with… Read more

Seeing Tonic Water Glow: Weekly Science Activity

August 14, 2014 8:00 AM

In this week's spotlight: a chemistry-focused family science activity that puts light energy, ultraviolet light, and visible light on display. With ordinary tonic water and a black light, families can learn more about ultraviolet light. What happens to the glow when you add a bit of bleach to the tonic water? Put it to the test to find out! Explore Glow-in-the-Dark Water! (Science Buddies activity) Shining Science: Explore Glow-in-the-Dark Water! (science activity at Scientific… Read more

Science Buddies Blog (249 results)

Explore Our Science Videos