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Tiny Tubes
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In this activity, learners make "totally tubular" forms of carbon. Learners use chicken wire to build macro models of carbon nanotubes.
Find the Fat
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Fat is a very important component in our diet. It's the most efficient source of energy in our bodies, and plays an important role in the flavor of foods.
CD Spinner
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In this activity, learners create a simple “top” from a CD, marble and bottle cap, and use it as a spinning platform for a variety of illusion-generating patterns.
Your Age on Other Worlds
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Did you know that you would be a different age if you lived on Mars? It's true!
Illuminations on Rates of Reactions
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In this activity, learners investigate the speed of chemical reactions with light sticks. Learners discover that reactions can be sped up or slowed down due to temperature changes.
Graph Dance
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In this activity, learners "dance" (move back and forth at varying speeds) by reading a graph. This is a kinesthetic way to help learners interpret and understand how motion is graphed.
Lagging Sound
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In this group activity, learners see and hear the speed of sound. A learner designated the "gonger" hits a gong, once every second, as the rest of the group watches and listens from a distance.
Falling Feather
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In this physics activity, learners recreate Galileo's famous experiment, in which he dropped a heavy weight and a light weight from the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa to show that both weights fall
Ambiguous Cube
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In this activity, learners construct a three-dimensional ambiguous cube to explore visual illusions and how our brains interpret or misinterpret information.
Critical Angle
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In this optics activity, learners examine how a transparent material such as glass or water can actually reflect light better than any mirror.
Soap-Film Interference Model: Get on our wavelength!
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By making models of light waves with paper, learners can understand why different colors appear in bubbles.
Tired Weight
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Yes, you can weigh your car by figuring out your wheel's tire pressure combined with the "tire's footprint." You'll need someone with a car, driver's license, and safety in mind.
Throwing Pi
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In this calculus activity, learners use a classic problem of geometrical probability to find an important mathematical constant (pi).
Height Sight
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In this activity, learners build a tool called an inclinometer that can find the height of any distant object, from a tree to the North Star.
"Baseketball": A Physicist Party Trick
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This trick from Exploratorium physicist Paul Doherty lets you add together the bounces of two balls and send one ball flying.
A Mole of Gas
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In this two-part activity, learners use everyday materials to visualize one mole of gas or 22.4 liters of gas. The first activity involves sublimating dry ice in large garbage bag.
Inverted Foucault Pendulum
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In this demonstration, learners explore a variation of a Foucault pendulum, but upside down.
Three Circles of Pigments
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In this activity, learners overlap the three primary colors to see how all other colors are made.
Think Fast!: Just How Quick Are You?
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This is an activity about reaction times. Just how quickly must an NHL goalie respond to save a shot, and how does your reaction time compare?
Burn a Peanut
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In this activity, learners burn a peanut, which produces a flame that can be used to boil away water and count the calories contained in the peanut.