Wild Science!

Mr. Science's Top Ten Experiments

1. Mixing Solids and Liquids
2. Fuji Film Canister Popper Rockets
3. Frog Skin aka Gak
4. Obleck & Flowing Volcanic Lava Slime
5. Make Leaf Rubbings and Pipe Cleaner Leaves
6. Flaming Stink Pot Volcanoes
7. Density Columns & Lava Lamps
8. Indy Worm 500 – Snail and Slug Races
9. The Magical Properties of Water and Cream Kaleidoscopes
10. Blubber Makes a Great Sweater

1. Mixing Solids and Liquids – Gases at Work for You & OHECK:
A). Give each student a set of film canisters one with water, one with vinegar and a pinch of baking soda on two lids (carbon dioxide gas). Using the OHECK method ~ Observe-Hypothesize-Experiment-Conclude-Knowledge~ have students experiment to see which liquid shows a chemical reaction/fizzes – now try it with hydrogen peroxide, water and yeast (oxygen gas). Do the experiments in the palm of your hand. One is cold (endothermic or endo”coldo”) and one is hot (exothermic or exo “explodo).

B). Now blow up balloons with gas expansion power. Color the balloon with markers first and watch the great expanding universe as it blows up. Put a film canister full of baking soda into a balloon. Put a cup of vinegar into a small plastic water bottle. Pull the balloon all the way over the bottle, mix and watch the universe expand. Tie off the balloon and notice the temperature change (Cold). Now try it with hydrogen peroxide and yeast (Warm).

2. Fuji Film Canister Popper Rockets – Explosive Fun: Snap it, Lock it, Flip it, Pop it!

Make rockets, and launch them using the pressure created when baking soda and vinegar are mixed. You can also use hydrogen peroxide and yeast. Wear eye protection . Put a little baking soda into the lid of the Fuji film canister and press it into the dimple in the middle of the lid. Clean the rim of the lid. Next put a finger full of vinegar (watered down vinegar reacts more slowly) into the canister. Snap together, flip over and …POP!!! Watch out for poppers shooting up fast! Rinse with water in between launches to clean the cap seal.

3. Frog Skin aka Gak – Bouncy Slime:
Give each student a set of film canisters, one with Gak borax solution (1 Tsp. 20 Mule team Borax/Qt. water) and one with Gak glue solution (50% white glue + 50% water). Have them mix the two and stir with the wooden stirring sticks. Dye the Gak (it is a long chain molecule called a polymer) with green food dye~look frog skin! It is wet, slimy and stretchy. Frogs breathe through their skin and so need to remain moist at all times. Frogs need clean, fresh water to be healthy.

4. Obleck & Flowing Volcanic Lava Slime:
Give each student a set of film canisters, one with cornstarch and one with water. Have them mix the two and stir with the wooden stirring sticks (colloid or nonnewtonian fluid). Have students pour into their overflow tray and watch the OBLECK flow like lava. Try holding the trays vertical. Touch the vertical tray of flowing lava. It feels hard and dry not wet. Dye red or orange or yellow. Drop a penny into the OBLECK. What happens? Stir it fast. Then slow. What is the difference?

5. Make Leaf Rubbings and Pipe Cleaner Leaves:
Go on a neighborhood nature safari searching for different kinds of leaves. Using the pipe cleaners have students try to shape them into the different types of leaves they collected. Do some leaf rubbings: with the leaf under a piece of paper rub the sheet with a crayon and watch the leaf image appear. Talk about the many different types of leaves and their colors.

6. Flaming Stink Pot Volcanoes:
Give each student a set of film canisters one with yeast and one with hydrogen peroxide. Have them guess what will happen when the two are mixed (OHECK), then mix them.

Teacher Demo : Light a wooden splint on fire and blow out. Then pop an oxygen bubble with the red glowing end of the smoldering splint. It will catch back on fire because of the pure oxygen gas produced by the hydrogen peroxide and yeast reaction.

7. Density Columns & Lava Lamps:
Teacher demo : Fill a clear cup with marbles. Tell the students that these marbles represent water molecules. Now get ready to add salt. Ask them to predict where the salt will go. The salt goes in between the marbles and so does not raise the level of the glass. This is why salt water is denser than fresh water, because there is more stuff, in this case salt, squeezed into the same amount of space. Give each student a set of film canisters, one with syrup, one with colored hydrogen peroxide and one with oil. Using the test tubes and an extra film canister to hold the test tube upright have students pour the liquids into the test tube. What happens? Sprinkle a little yeast into the test tubes. What happens? – A lava lamp starts because the yeast starts to react with the hydrogen peroxide layer and we can see the bubbles of oxygen gas bubbling up throw the different layers. Add a pinch of baking soda to help pull the yeast down. A more vigorous reaction occurs. Try with other liquids and chemicals (i.e. vinegar and baking soda below the oil layer; add colored rubbing alcohol – it will float on the top of everything).

8. Indy Worm 500 – Snail and Slug Races:
Bring some earthworms, meal worms snails and slugs into the classroom. Observe them in the overflow tray with the students. Set up an “Indy” racetrack and start the races. Try a straight up vertical race track/hang plastic wrap or cellophane from a line in the classroom (slugs and snails always climb up). Put several snails/slugs on the bottom of the suspended plastic wrap and watch the snails/slugs race to the top. Put a snail/slug on black construction paper and watch them create ghost writing as their slime trail leaves a shiny, secret message behind them. Try feeding the critters with bits of lettuce. Teacher demo : use a Q-tip dipped in vinegar; hold it near a worm or snail, but do not touch it. The animal will smell the acid and back away before touching it.

9. The Magical Properties of Water and Cream Kaleidoscopes:
Give each student a small glass of water. Ask them what will happen if you sprinkle some black pepper on the water. Do the experiment. It floats. Then ask what will happen if you then put in a drop of soap. Do the experiment. The pepper will shoot to the side and then sink to the bottom of the cup because the soap cuts the surface tension of the water. Now give everyone a small plate/bowl filled with a thin layer of Half and Half. Add different colored food dye drops to the Half and Half. What happened? Now get ready to add a few drops of liquid soap. Ask the students what will happen. Try it. The colors start swirling and whirling like a cream kaleidoscope because the soap cuts the surface tension and breaks up the fat creating colored currents.

10. Blubber Makes a Great Sweater:
Nearly fill a zip lock bag with soft lard and then push another zip lock bag into the lard to act as a liner. Tape the tops of the two zip lock bags together to form a “blubber mitten”. Now set up a bucket of ice water. Ask students how they think a whale keeps warm in the cold ocean. How do people keep warm outside? Now have the students put a bare hand in the ice water. BRRR. Next put on the “blubber mitten”. The “blubber mitten” insulates one's hand from the cold, just like a whale's blubber.