Magic Ice Cubes

Speed up the melting process of ice with the help of a little pressure. Cut a piece of ice in half like magic while learning how the process relates to ice skating.

What you'll need:

• One ice cube
• A piece of fishing line with a weight (the heavier the better) tied to each end
• A container
• Some kind of tray to keep things from getting wet

Instructions:

1. Turn the container upside down and put it on the tray.
2. Place the ice cube on top of the upside down container.
3. Rest the fishing line over the ice cube so that the weights are left dangling over the side of the container.
4. Watch it for around 5 minutes.

What's happening?

The pressure from the two weights pulls the string through the ice cube by melting the ice directly under the fishing line. This is similar to ice skating where the blades of a skater melt the ice directly underneath, allowing the skater to move smoothly on a thin layer of water.

FUFUFUFU, a magic HUH!

Relax with Beautiful Bath Salts

Whether you're making a special present for someone else, experimenting at home or just want to relax in a hot bath, give this experiment a go. Create your own bath salts with a variety of refreshing fragrances, experiment with different essential oils to see which you like best.

What you'll need:

• 1 cup of washing soda
• A plastic bag
• A rolling pin (or something similar that can crush lumps)
• A bowl
• A spoon for stirring
• Essential oil
• Food coloring

Instructions:

1. Take the cup of washing soda and put it into a plastic bag. Crush the lumps with a rolling pin or similar object.
2. Empty the bag into a bowl and stir in 5 or 6 drops of your favorite essential oil such as rosemary, lavender or mint.
3. Stir in a few drops of food coloring until the mixture is evenly colored.
4. Put the mixture into clean dry containers and enjoy as you please.

What's happening?

Bath Salts are typically made from Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate), table salt (sodium chloride) or washing soda (sodium carbonate). The chemical make up of the mixture makes it easy to form a lather. Bath salts are said to improve cleaning and deliver an appealing fragrance when bathing.

BYUUR, BYUUR, BYUUR taking a bath

Tornado in a Bottle

Learn how to make a tornado in a bottle with this fun science experiment for kids. Using easy to find items such as dish washing liquid, water, glitter and a bottle you can make your own mini tornado that’s a lot safer than one you might see on the weather channel. Follow the instructions and enjoy the cool water vortex you create!

What you'll need:

• Water
• A clear plastic bottle with a cap (that won't leak)
• Glitter
• Dish washing liquid

Instructions:

1. Fill the plastic bottle with water until it reaches around three quarters full.
2. Add a few drops of dish washing liquid.
3. Sprinkle in a few pinches of glitter (this will make your tornado easier to see).
4. Put the cap on tightly.
5. 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).

STIR, STIR, STIR the bottle until the Tornado were seen

Making 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.

SELL, SELL, SELL THIS, we can get money!

Science Annual Project

I'm Vicky from GROUP 1 [ China ], My Group made a Pagoda for the Annual Project and a Poster about the length of  our Pagoda and the real Pagoda for Math.

REFLECTION:
Its not really easy to make the Pagoda,
1st we must find 5 boxes,
2nd we must spray it with Pyllox,
3rd we must cut and arrange the boxes,
4th we must cut and paste the spectra paper the roof,
5th we must cut and paste the the styrofoam,
6th we must paint the windows using black pyllox,
and the last but not least, 7th we must let it DRY so, it can stick.
HAHAHAHA, it really complicated!

Make your own Fake Snot

As disgusting as it might sound to some people, let's make some fake snot! Snot actually serves an important purpose in our body so this experiment is not all about grossing out our friends, although that's certainly part of the fun.

What you'll need:

• Boiling water (be careful with this)
• A cup
• Gelatin
• Corn syrup
• A teaspoon
• A fork

Instructions:

1. Fill half a cup with boiling water.
2. Add three teaspoons of gelatin to the boiling water.
3. Let it soften before stirring with a fork.
4. Add a quarter of a cup of corn syrup.
5. Stir the mixture again with your fork and look at the long strands of gunk that have formed.
6. As the mixture cools slowly add more water, small amounts at a time.

What's happening?

Mucus is made mostly of sugars and protein. Although different than the ones found in the real thing, this is exactly what you used to make your fake snot. The long, fine strings you could see inside your fake snot when you moved it around are protein strands. These protein strands make snot sticky and capable of stretching.

DOR, DOR, DOR, DOR, I win

Raw or Boiled Egg?

Surprise your friends and family with an easy science experiment that answers an otherwise tricky question. Two eggs look and feel the same but there is a big difference, one is raw and the other hard boiled, find out which is which with this fun experiment.

What you'll need:

• Two eggs, one hard boiled and one raw. Make sure the hard boiled egg has been in the fridge long enough to be the same temperature as the raw egg.

Instructions:

1. Spin the eggs and watch what happens, one egg should spin while the other wobbles.
2. You can also lightly touch each of the eggs while they are spinning, one should stop quickly while the other keeps moving after you have touched it.

What's happening?

The raw egg's centre of gravity changes as the white and yolk move around inside the shell, causing the wobbling motion. Even after you touch the shell it continues moving. This is because of inertia, the same type of force you feel when you change direction or stop suddenly in a car, your body wants to move one way while the car wants to do something different. Inertia causes the raw egg to spin even after you have stopped it, this contrasts with the solid white and yolk of the hard boiled egg, it responds much quicker if you touch it.

This is a good experiment to test a friend or someone in your family with, see if they can figure out how to tell the difference between the eggs (without smashing them of course) before showing them your nifty trick.

Too hard or too soft?