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Funny you should mention that, Charlie. Here's something reverse
engineered from a more complicated, potentially messier (and, let's be
frank, far cooler) demo I saw from the wonderful crazy people at the
Franklin Institute:

All you need is a length of PVC pipe or broom handle (diameter not
important), rope, a key ring with a lot of keys, and some kind of
weight. (A baseball or softball will do; you just need to attach one end
of the rope to it - perhaps with an eye-hook.) PVC may be too slick for
the demo - if so just scuff it up with sandpaper.

Attach the weight to one end of the rope, the key ring to the other. Put
the pipe/broom handle in or on something so that it's parallel to the
ground. Two people could even hold the pipe if they're steady-handed.
Hold the side of the rope with the keys on one side of the pipe, with
the weight on the other side of the pipe. Take a couple steps back so
that you're pulling the weight up, pulley-style, until it is almost at
the pipe. You should be holding the keys with the rope taut.

Now, give the keys a very little push forwards, so that the rope on
their side of the pipe swings forward, like a pendulum.

When you let go of the keys, the weight on the other side of the pipe
drops, making the rope shorter and shorter on the keys' side of the
pipe, and - conservation of angular momentum - that makes them swing
faster and faster. In fact, they should go so fast that their end swings
around the pipe and gets tangled in the rope, stopping the weight before
it hits the ground. It takes a little trial and error with the height of
the pipe, length of the rope etc, but this isn't too hard to master.

You can tie it in to spinning, with things like CoAM showing why
divers/skaters/gymnasts go into a tighter tuck to rotate faster etc 

Good luck, Alli, and I'm dearly hoping you're including the scene from
Strangers on a Train,
Jonah Cohen
Outreach & Public Programs Manager
The Children's Museum

-----Original Message-----
From: Informal Science Education Network
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Charlie Carlson
Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 4:21 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: spin experiments

ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology
Centers Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
institutions.
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What about something related to the conservation of angular momentum?
C

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