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Trading Places: Redox Reactions
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Visitors add drops of copper sulfate solution onto a steel nail. They observe the nail change color from silver to brown as the copper plates onto the nail.
Forwards and Backwards: pH and Indicators
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Visitors prepare six solutions combining vinegar and ammonia that range incrementally from acid (all vinegar) to base (all ammonia).
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.
Common Scents
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Learners use a mortar and pestle to extract clove oil from cloves using denatured alcohol. They put this oil on paper, which they can take home.
Magnetism
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In this activity, learners explore the principles of magnetism by observing how various materials interact with magnets and superconductors.
Making Metals Strong
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In this activity, learners demonstrate the effects of cold-working (strain-hardening) and annealing. Learners discover that these processes change the load that a wire can support.
Plastics the Second Time Around
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In this activity, learners test and compare the physical properties of thermoplastic polymers. Learners compare different plastics based on their color, degree of transparency, texture, and density.
Don't Throw it in the Garbage
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In this activity, learners discover why only some types of plastic can be recycled.
Stretching Wires
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In this activity, learners determine the elastic and plastic properties of different types of metal wires.
Ready, Set, Fizz!
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In this activity, learners explore the chemical reaction between water and effervescent antacid tablets. This hands-on activity models how a material can act differently when it's nanometer-sized.
Hot and Cold: Endothermic and Exothermic Reactions
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Visitors mix urea with water in one flask and mix calcium chloride with water in another flask. They observe that the urea flask gets cold and the calcium chloride flask gets hot.
It's A Gas!
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Visitors mix water and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) in a large flask. They then add citric acid to the mixture and stopper the flask. The resulting reaction creates carbon dioxide gas.
All Mixed Up!: Separating Mixtures
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Visitors separate a mixture of pebbles, salt crystals, and wood shavings by adding water and pouring the mixture through a strainer.
Shrinkers
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Visitors use heat to shrink samples of polystyrene. They compare samples from containers that were shaped in different ways during manufacturing.
Concentrate: Concentrations and Reaction Rates
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Visitors incrementally increase the amount of iodate in three different test tubes containing the same amount of a starch solution.
Magic Inks
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Learners write their initials by applying different clear "magic ink" solutions to separate pieces of paper and then "develop" the inks with other clear solutions.
Flubber
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Learners experiment with a piece of Silly Putty® by stretching, bouncing, and snapping it. They then create flubber, a similar substance, by mixing diluted glue and a solution of sodium borate.
Gelatin Prism
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In this activity, learners make prisms from gelatin. Learners then shine light through the prisms and discover what happens. This activity introduces learners to the idea of refraction.
Dusted!
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Learners press their fingertip onto a clean Plexiglas sheet. The fingerprints are then revealed as learners dust over the print with fingerprint powder.