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Modeling Day and Night
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In this activity (on page 1 of the PDF), learners make a "mini-globe" to investigate the causes of day and night on our planet.
Soda Pop Can Hero Engine
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In this demonstration/activity, water streaming through holes in the bottom of a suspended soda pop can causes the can to rotate.

Bicycle-Wheel Gyro
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In this activity, a spinning bicycle wheel resists efforts to tilt it and point the axle in a new direction.

Laser Lissajous: PVC Version
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In this activity, learners use a laser pointer and two small rotating mirrors to create a variety of fascinating patterns, which can be easily and dramatically projected on a wall or screen.

Beyond Dominoes: Polyominoes
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In this activity, learners add squares to paper dominoes to make polyominoes.

Crank It Up
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In this engineering activity, learners explore simple machines and then build cardboard automata using cams.

Why do Hurricanes go Counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere?
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In this kinesthetic activity, learners will play a game with a ball to demonstrate the Coriolis force, which partly explains why hurricanes in the Northern Hemisphere rotate counterclockwise.

Tinkering with Tops
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In this activity, learners explore the history, design and motion of spinning tops. Learners work in teams of "engineers" to design and build their own tops out of everyday items.

Mini Zoetrope
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In this activity (posted on March 27, 2011), learners follow the steps to construct a mini zoetrope, a device that produces an illusion of action from a rapid succession of static pictures.

Testing Falling Peanut Butter Sandwich Myth
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In this activity related to rotational inertia (page 1 of the PDF under SciGirls Activity: Microgravity), learners will use a bit of scientific experimenting to test if open-faced peanut butter sandwi

Laser Lissajous: Binder Clip Version
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In this activity, learners use a laser pointer and two small rotating mirrors to create a variety of fascinating patterns, which can be easily and dramatically projected on a wall or screen.

Exploring Tessellations (Grades 3-5)
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In this activity, learners repeat patterns in two and three dimensions to create tessellations.

Reason for the Seasons
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In this activity (on page 6 of the PDF), learners plot the path of the sun's apparent movement across the sky on two days, with the second day occurring two or three months after the first.

Exploring Tessellations (Grades 6-8)
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In this activity, learners design unique tiles and make repeating patterns to create tessellations. This activity combines the creativity of an art project with the challenge of solving a puzzle.

Bike Wheel Zoetrope
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In this activity (posted on April 18, 2011), learners follow the steps to construct a zoetrope, a device that produces an illusion of action from a rapid succession of static pictures, using a 16" bik

Cylindrical Wing
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In this design and physics challenge, learners construct a cylindrical wing, fly it, make modifications, and determine how the changes affect flight patterns.

The Shadow Knows I
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In this activity, learners will measure the length of their shadow from the Sun and compare it three to four months later.

Spinning Cylinder: Make a triangle appear on a spinning wheel
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Spin a short piece of PVC pipe that's been marked up, and watch a triangle appear. Enjoy this optical illusion from the Exploratorium's Science Snack series.

Benham’s Disk
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In this activity (on page 2 of the PDF under GPS: Light and Color Activity), learners will see the illusion of colors produced by a rotating black and white image known as Benham’s Disk.

Exploring Tessellations (Grades K-2)
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In this activity, learners repeat patterns in two and three dimensions to create tessellations. This activity combines the creativity of an art project with the challenge of solving a puzzle.