Search Results
Showing results 1 to 20 of 52
Cleaning with Dirt
Source Institutions
Learners build a filter from old soda bottles and dirt. They create polluted water, and pour it through their filter to clean it.
Latent Prints
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners examine fingerprints. Learners leave a hidden print on a surface and then make their own print detecting powder from graphite (found in pencils).
Density: Make a golf ball float!
Source Institutions
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
Source Institutions
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
Source Institutions
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.
Fireworks!
Source Institutions
In this chemistry lab activity, learners model the colors of fireworks by burning metallic solutions in a flame and observing the different colors produced.
Lava Lamps
Source Institutions
Learners observe working lava lamps to understand how they work (included in PDF link).
The Proof is in the Powder
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners will design a way to identify a powder found at a crime scene by comparing it with known powders, with the goal of solving a crime.
Bend a Carrot
Source Institutions
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.
Phase Changes
Source Institutions
Learners observe a sealed test tube containing a small amount of solid stearic acid.
Changing Colors
Source Institutions
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.
Salting Out
Source Institutions
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.
Diving Submarine
Source Institutions
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.
Hanford at the Half-Life Radiation Calculator
Source Institutions
This quiz lets you estimate your annual radiation exposure.
To Dye For
Source Institutions
Learners add two dyes to mineral oil and water, and then compare their miscibility (how well they mix) in each.
Electrolysis
Source Institutions
Using electrolysis, learners produce hydrogen gas and oxygen gas from water molecules in a solution.
Shrinkers: Cook up some plastic!
Source Institutions
In this activity (on page 2 of the PDF), learners (with adult help and supervision) investigate how heat affects polystyrene plastic.
Miscibility
Source Institutions
Learners observe a bottle containing water and oil. They are invited to pick up the bottle and mix the contents together.
Take Out the Trash
Source Institutions
Learners explore how recyclers take advantage of the different properties of materials, such as magnetism and density, to separate them from a mixture.
Inner Space
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners discover that there is space between molecules even in a cup "full" of water. They first fill a cup with marbles, and then add sand to fill the gaps between the marbles.