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Hot Stuff!: Investigation #4
Learners test two jars containing soil, one covered and one open, for changes in temperature. After placing the jars in the Sun, learners discover that the covered jar cools down more slowly.

Dripping Wet or Dry as a Bone?
Learners investigate the concept of humidity by using a dry and wet sponge as a model. They determine a model for 100% humidity, a sponge saturated with water.

Hot Stuff!: Investigation #1
Learners test two jars, one containing plain air and one containing carbon dioxide gas, to see their reactions to temperature changes.

How Can Gravity Make Something Go Up?
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In this activity, learners use cheap, thin plastic garbage bags to quickly build a solar hot air balloon. In doing so, learners will explore why hot air rises.

Good News: We're on the Rise!
Learners build a simple aneroid barometer to learn about changes in barometric pressure and weather forecasting. They observe their barometer and record data over a period of days.

Acid Rain Effects
Learners conduct a simple experiment to model and explore the harmful effects of acid rain (vinegar) on living (green leaf and eggshell) and non-living (paper clip) objects.

Imploding Pop Can
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In this dramatic activity/demonstration about phase change and condensation, learners place an aluminum can filled with about two tablespoons of water on a stove burner.

Physics in the Sky: Physics on a Plane
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On an airplane trip, learners have an opportunity to investigate the properties of air pressure at different altitudes.

Crunch Time
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In this quick and easy activity and/or demonstration, learners use two empty 2-liter bottles and hot tap water to illustrate the effect of heat on pressure.

Percentage of Oxygen in the Air
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In this activity, learners calculate the percentage of oxygen in the atmosphere by using steel wool's ability to rust.

Tumble Wing Walkalong Glider
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In this physics activity (page 2 of the PDF), learners will construct their own walkalong glider. They will explore how air, though invisible, surrounds and affects other objects.

How can Clouds Help Keep the Air Warmer?
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In this activity, learners explore how air warms when it condenses water vapor or makes clouds.

Balloon Hovercraft
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In this activity (on page 2 of the PDF under GPS: Luge Activity), learners will construct a model hovercraft out of an empty spool and a piece of cardboard.

Toasty Wind
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In this quick activity, learners use a toaster to investigate the source for the Earth's wind. Learners hold a pinwheel above a toaster to discover that rising heat causes wind.

Water Drop Races
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In this activity, learners will explore the physics of liquids and gas by playing with both! Learners of any age use their own breath to move drops of water across a smooth wax paper surface.

Hot Stuff!: Testing for Carbon Dioxide from Our Own Breath
Learners blow into balloons and collect their breath--carbon dioxide gas (CO2). They then blow the CO2 from the balloon into a solution of acid-base indicator.

A Merry-Go-Round for Dirty Air
Learners build a model of a pollution control device--a cyclone. A cyclone works by whirling the polluted air in a circle and accumulating particles on the edges of the container.

Full of Hot Air: Hot Air Balloon Building
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In this activity, learners create a model of a hot air balloon using tissue paper and a hairdryer. Educators can use this activity to introduce learners to density and its role in why things float.

A Pressing Engagement
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In this quick and easy activity and/or demonstration, learners illustrate the effect of the weight of air over our heads.

CD Air Puck
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In this activity, learners will use a compact disc to build an air puck that can glide across a smooth tabletop. The puck glides with almost no friction on a cushion of air escaping from a balloon.