how to make straw hoop plane

• A regular plastic drinking straw
• 3 X 5 inch index card or stiff paper
• Tape
• Scissors

• 1. Cut the index card or stiff paper into 3 separate pieces that measure 1 inch (2.5 cm) by 5 inches (13 cm.)
• 2. Take 2 of the pieces of paper and tape them together into a hoop as shown. Be sure to overlap the pieces about half an inch (1 cm) so that they keep a nice round shape once taped.

• 3. Use the last strip of paper to make a smaller hoop, overlapping the edges a bit like before.
• 4. Tape the paper loops to the ends of the straw as shown below. (notice that the straw is lined up on the inside of the loops)the experiment will look as shown below. 
  
  
• 5. That's it! Now hold the straw in the middle with the hoops on top and throw it in the air similar to how you might throw a dart angled slightly up. With some practice you can get it to go farther than many paper airplanes.

how to make a lava lamp. (world easiest lava lamp)

• A clean 1 liter clear soda bottle
• 3/4 cup of water
• Vegetable Oil
• Fizzing tablets (such as Alka Seltzer)
• Food coloring

1. Pour the water into the bottle.

2. Use a measuring cup or funnel to slowly pour the vegetable oil into the bottle until it's almost full. You may have to wait a few minutes for the oil and water separate.

3. Add 10 drops of food coloring to the bottle (we like red, but any color will look great.) The drops will pass through the oil and then mix with the water below. 

4. Break a seltzer tablet in half and drop the half tablet into the bottle. Watch it sink to the bottom and let the blobby greatness begin!

5. To keep the effect going, just add another tablet piece. For a true lava lamp effect, shine a flashlight through the bottom of the bottle

the lincoln high dive

• A Lincoln penny (or other small coin)
• A piece of card stock or stiff paper
• A film canister, baby food jar, or other similar size container with an mouth slightly larger than a penny
• Pencil or pen
• Scissors

1. Cut the cardstock paper into a long strip about .75 inches (2 cm) wide and form it into a hoop as shown. The paper should be stiff enough to hold the hoop shape on its own and the hoop works best when it is between 3-4 inches (8-10 cm) across.
2. For dramatic effect, fill the film canister with water and place on a level surface.
3. Place the hoop on the film canister as shown and balance the penny on the top of the hoop.
4. Time for Lincoln's big moment! Place a pencil through the center of the hoop and in one swift motion fling the hoop off to the side as pictured. If you do this correctly, the hoop will fly out of the way, and the penny will fall straight down into the canister with a splash. 10 points for Lincoln!

HOW TO MAKE A FILM CANISTER ROCKET.

• One empty 35mm plastic film canister and lid. These are getting harder to find, but stores that develop film should have some. (The white canisters work much better than the black ones do.) If you have trouble finding canisters, you can get them HERE.
• One fizzing antacid tablet (such as Alka-Seltzer - Get this from your parents)
• Water
• Safety goggles

1. Put on those safety goggles and head outside - no really, when this works, that film canister really flies! If you want to try the indoor version, do not turn the canister upside down in step 5.

2. Break the antacid tablet in half.

3. Remove the lid from the film canister and put a teaspoon (5 ml) of water into the canister.

   Do the next 2 steps quickly 

4. Drop the tablet half into the canister and snap the cap onto the canister (make sure that it snaps on tightly.)

5. Quickly put the canister on the ground CAP SIDE DOWN and STEP BACK at least 2 meters.

6. About 10 seconds later, you will hear a POP! and the film canister will launch into the air!

Caution: If it does not launch, wait at least 30 second before examining the canister. Usually the cap is not on tight enough and the build up of gas leaked out.

how to roll a can with static electricity

* An empty soda can
* blown-up balloon
* A head of hair

1. Place the can on its side on a flat smooth surface like a table or a smooth floor.

2. Rub the blown up balloon back and forth through your hair really fast.

3. Now the fun part - Hold the balloon close to the can without actually touching the can. The can will start to roll towards the balloon without you even touching it!

Try This Too: While you've got the balloon out, tear up part of a tissue into tiny pieces about 1/4 inch (.5 cm) big. Rub the balloon in your hair again and bring it close to the tissue pieces. They will be attracted to the balloon and then jump away.

This works a lot like our bending water experiment. When you rub the balloon through your hair, invisible electrons (with a negative charge) build up on the surface of the balloon. This is called static electricity, which means "non-moving electricity" The electrons have the power to pull very light objects (with a positive charge) toward them - like the soda can.

magic ketchup.

* A 1 liter plastic bottle         * Ketchup pack from a fast food restaurant         * Salt (using Kosher salt helps keep the water from becoming foggy)

Remove any labels from the bottle and fill it all the way to the top with water. Add a ketchup pack to the bottle. If the ketchup floats, you're all set - go to step 4. If the ketchup sinks in the bottle, go to step 5. For the floating ketchup pack simply screw the cap on the bottle and squeeze the sides of the bottle hard. If the ketchup sinks when you squeeze it, and floats when you release it, congratulations, you're ready to show it off. If it does not sink when you squeeze it, try a different kind of ketchup pack or try a mustard or soy sauce pack. If the ketchup pack sinks, add about 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of salt to the bottle. Cap it and shake it up until the salt dissolves. (Kosher salt will keep the water from getting too cloudy, although it will usually clear up over time if using regular table salt.) Continue adding salt, a few tablespoons at a time until the ketchup is just barely floating to the top of the bottle. Once it is consistently floating, make sure the bottle is filled to the top with water, and then cap it tightly. Now squeeze the bottle. The magic ketchup should sink when you squeeze the bottle and float up when you release it. With some practice you can get it to stop in the middle of the bottle.

how to make lava in cup.

 

* A clear drinking glass
* 1/4 cup vegetable oil
* 1 teaspoon salt
* Water
* Food coloring (optional)

1. Fill the glass about 3/4 full of water .
2. Add about 5 drops of food coloring - I like red for the lava look.
3. Slowly pour the vegetable oil into the glass. See how the oil floats on top - cool huh? It gets better.
4. Now the fun part: Sprinkle the salt on top of the oil.
5. Watch blobs of lava move up and down in your glass!
6. If you liked that, add another teaspoon of salt to keep the effect going.

So what's going on? Of course, it's not real lava but it does look a bit like a lava lamp your parents may have had. First of all, the oil floats on top of the water because it is lighter than the water. Since the salt is heavier than oil, it sinks down into the water and takes some oil with it, but then the salt dissolves and back up goes the oil! Pretty cool huh?