We are fall obsessed in this house and if I can incorporate our favorite season in science, I do!
Our main science focus is physics this year but I am adding a dash of other topics as well (chemistry and animal science this week).
Ghost rockets are one of my favorite science experiments!
Materials:
Film canisters (or another small canister that you can quickly seal)
Baking soda
Vinegar
Measuring spoons
Method:
Put a teaspoon of baking soda in the canister
Put the top on, but leave it just cracked open
Quickly pour able a tablespoon of vinegar in the canister and seal
Watch the ghost take off in the air
You can try mixing different amounts and/or shaking the canister for more dramatic results. This is a fun experiment no matter what age you are teaching!
It is a great opportunity to talk about chemical reactions and force/motion.
Since we are studying physics, we are clearly covering Newton’s laws. Making a pendulum has been in my list of activities, but I thought we’d use pumpkins and it worked! Apples also worked and are a little more reliable due to their shape and texture.
We used a 2x4, yarn, and small pumpkins. I did tape the yarn to the 2x4 or it would slide around too much.
The bat pulley was a must because we are finishing a mini unit and research project on bats. Materials:
Bat cut outs (I used my Cricut)
Toilet paper roll (cut in thirds)
Hole punch
String/yarn
Large straws cut in quarters
Googley eyes
Stapler
Directions:
Add Googley eyes and silly faces to your bat (a white pencil or crayon does the trick)
Staple the bat to the toilet paper roll
Hole punch the toilet paper roll on either side
String the yarn through the two holes (the string should be about 2 feet long)
Tie a piece of straw on either side of the string
Place the string over a door handle and grip both straws - pull up!
All of my kiddos found this activity fun!
This activity was easy for us because we added a pulley system to our tree fort. If you do not have a pulley system, you can buy a wheel or pulley system at Home Depot or Amazon. I recommend using a 2x4 or tree limb as the high point for your wheel. We added a D clip and plastic bucket to ours.
Each time they pulled an additional pumpkin.
Last but not least, we did yet another ramp activity. We’ve already done several friction activities this year (with cars, balls, etc) but it was nice out and they wanted one more experiment today! We decided to test out a smooth ball, basketball, and pumpkin down their ramp. We tried to use the same amount of force each time and then we timed how long each object took to go down the ramp. Check out our results below.
Ramps can be made from plywood, 2x4s, pool noodles, or cardboard!
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