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Density: Make a golf ball float!
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In this activity (on page 2 of the PDF), the learner places a golf ball between salt water and colored fresh water. The golf ball is not as dense as the saltwater.
Currently Working: Testing Conductivity
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Visitors test solutions of water, sugar, salt, and hydrochloric acid and the solids salt and sugar. They clip leads from the hand generator to wires immersed in each substance.
Divers
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Learners experiment with a 2-liter plastic bottle containing water and four “divers." The divers consist of open, transparent containers with the opening points downward.
Gas Production: Blow up a balloon!
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In this classic reaction, learners baking soda and vinegar in a soda bottle to produce carbon dioxide (CO2) gas. This gas inflates a balloon.
Odors Aloft
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Learners smell balloons filled with different scents to guess what's inside. From this, they infer the presence and motion of scented molecules.
Bounce vs. Thud Balls
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Learners compare the properties of two balls that appear identical. One ball bounces, while the other ball "thuds." The “bounce” ball is made of the polymer polybutadiene (-C4H4-).
Lava Lamps
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Learners observe working lava lamps to understand how they work (included in PDF link).
Electrolysis
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Learners observe two joined glass tubes containing a conductive salt solution. Electrodes are passing an electric current through the water.
DNA Extraction
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Learners use a simple process to extract DNA from strawberries.
Shake It Up!
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Learners observe a sealed container holding a clear colorless liquid. They shake the container and the fluid turns blue. When allowed to sit for a few moments, the fluid turns colorless again.
Bend a Carrot
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In this activity, learners investigate the process of osmosis by adding salt to a sealed bag of raw carrots and comparing it to a control.
Yeast Balloons: Can biochemistry blow up a balloon?
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Using yeast, sugar, and water, learners create a chemical reaction which produces carbon dioxide (CO2) gas inside a 2-liter bottle. They use this gas to inflate a balloon.
In the Toilet
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This activity explores the basic workings of a siphon, which is the core technology that makes toilets work.
Phase Changes
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Learners observe a sealed test tube containing a small amount of solid stearic acid.
Yeast Balloons
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Visitors observe a bottle with a balloon attached around the mouth. The bottle contains a solution of yeast, sugar, and water.
Changing Colors
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Learners experiment with a commercially available liquid-crystal coaster. They warm the material with their hands for varying lengths of time and observe the changing colors that result.
Shrinkers
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In this hands-on activity, learners use heat to shrink samples of polystyrene plastic (#6 recycle code). Learners compare the size and shape of the plastic pieces before and after shrinking.
Salting Out
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In this activity, learners create a mixture of water, alcohol and permanent marker ink, and then add salt to form a colored alcohol layer on top of a colorless water layer.
Pot-in-Pot Refrigeration
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In this activity (on page 2 of PDF), learners create a low-tech refrigerator that requires no electricity to keep food from spoiling.
Diving Submarine
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Learners use a commercially available toy to experiment with density. They fill a chamber in the toy submarine with baking powder and release it into a tank of water.