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I recommend focusing on basic water science demos/tabletop activities since they're cheap and easy. You'll need a cart or table for these, and cloth or paper towels:
1. Using an eye dropper, see how many drops of water can fit on the head of a penny before spilling over the side. Discuss cohesion.
2. Using a string, dribble water from one cup to another. Discuss adhesion.
3. Float identically sized rods or blocks of different materials to see which float and sink. Discuss density.
4. Slide one straw into another and blow bubbles into the top, middle and bottom of a water filled 2-liter soda bottle or graduated cylinder, notice that it's harder near the bottom. Discuss water pressure.
5. Drill 3-4 holes into a tall plastic container at different heights, pour water into the container and observe that the bottom holes will spray the furthest water stream. Discuss water pressure (and da Vinci's science experiments).
6. Very carefully place and float a paper clip or berry box on the surface skin of water, add a drop of soap and they'll sink. Discuss cohesion and surface tension.
7. Float blocks of wood of different shapes (wide vs. narrow, long vs. short, etc) in a bucket/tank of water, place weights on them until they tip over. Discuss boat design and stability.
8. Give visitors equal-sized pieces of aluminum foil, twist them into different shapes, place in a bucket, put paper clips into the boat until it sinks. Discuss load.
9. Place an erlenmeyer flask with a little water on a hot plate, attach a balloon to the top to catch the water vapor. Discuss increase in volume with the change in state of matter.
10. Place a pencil or ruler in a glass or beaker of water, observe the bent shape. Discuss refraction.
11. Fill a clear jar or beaker with water, put in a little milk or coffee creamer, shine a laser through the jar, observe the bending of the light. Discuss refraction.
12. Put a penny or paper clip into a jar filled with water, loosely put some plastic wrap over the top, place a few drops of water on the seran wrap, look down and notice that the penny looks larger. Discuss lenses/optics and magnification.
13. Put a quarter (for weight) and a few drops of food coloring into a plastic film cannister, pour hot water into the cannister, very carefully place it into the bottom of a clear jar or 1,000 ml beaker that's filled with cold water, observe the colored water rising to the top. Or, do the exact opposite (food coloring and cold water into a film cannister and placed into a jar of warm water). Discuss warm water rises, cold water sinks.
14. Fill a jar all the way to the top with water so that it doesn't seem as if any more can go in, then pour in some alcohol, notice it doesn't spill over immediately. Discuss molecular size and space between molecules.
15. Fill two plastic jars/beakers with an identical volume of water, freeze one of them, show visitors that the frozen one expanded. Discuss water's unique property of contraction and expansion as it changes state.
16. Put a stalk of celery into a jar with water and food coloring, over time the water moves up the stalk. Discuss capillary action.
17. Drop various sized and weighted objects into a large bowl or aquarium. Discuss waves.
18. Suck some water into a straw or plastic tube, keep the straw in the water and immediately place your finger over the top, trapping some water in the straw. Discuss pressure (in the straw vs outside).
19. Draw lines or pictures on coffee filters using water soluble markers (make sure at least one is black), splash water onto the filters with a brush or eye dropper, observe that the lines will spread out/mix/smear, notice some colors (like black) will split into other colors. Discuss chromatography.
20. If you use any of these, feel free to re-pay me with my favorite water experiment - one tablespoon of water added to a good single-malt at room temperature, notice that this is MUCH better than no water at all or on the rocks. Discuss politics, education, philosophy or whatever you want.
Martin S. Fisher
Director of Education
Nauticus, the National Maritime Center
One Waterside Drive
Norfolk, VA 23510
36°50'51"N 76°17'53"W 13 ft.
phone: (757) 664-1003, (800) 664-1080 ext. 41003
fax: (757) 623-1287 cell (757) 617-7080
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> www.nauticus.org <http://www.nauticus.org>
-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Levad [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2004 2:01 PM
Subject: Entertaining the line
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************
Hi everybody,
We are having a very good summer with Titanic "The Artifact
Exhibition". So good in fact that we are having significant lines
both to get into the museum and to the Titanic exhibit. I was
wondering if anyone had any good suggestions for demos that you use
to entertain the line when you are busy.
Mike
--
Mike Levad
Exhibit/Program Developer
The Franklin Institute Science Museum
222 N. 20th St. Philadelphia, PA 19103
Voice:215.448.1309
Fax:215.448.1188
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
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