MAKE A TORNADO

MATERIALS:
2 2-Liter Clear Plastic Pop Bottles (empty and clean)
Water
1-inch Metal Washer
Duct Tape (or you can go to a science store and get a ‘tornado tube’ that will connect the 2 2-liter bottles together)

PROCEDURE:
Fill one of the bottles two-thirds full of water.
Place the metal washer or twist the ‘tornado tube’ over the opening of the bottle.
Turn the second bottle upside down and place it on the washer or twist it on the ‘tornado tube’.
Use duct tape to fasten the two containers and the metal washer together. 
Make sure that it is sealed tightly to make sure that water will not leak. 
If you use the 'tornado tube', just twist the connector tightly.
Turn the tornado maker, so that the bottle with the water is on top. 
Swirl the bottle in a circular motion.
A tornado will form in the top bottle as the water rushes into the bottom bottle.
 
 

THE SOAPY TORNADO
 

   MATERIALS:
One Quart Jar and Lid
Liquid Dishwashing Soap
Food Coloring (preferably green)

 PROCEDURE:
Fill the jar with water and put a few drops of dishwashing soap in the jar. 
Then put a few drops of food coloring in the jar. 
Put the lid on tight and swirl the jar in a circular motion several times.
When you stop and look inside the jar you should see what looks like a tornado.
The tornado will slowly disappear as it moves upward towards the top of the jar.
 
 

FUNNY FACED MARSHMALLOWS
 

 MATERIALS:
2 or 3 Large Marshmallows
Small Glass Jar
Straw
Enough Modeling Clay to Cover Top of Jar

 PROCEDURE:
Draw a face on the flat end of the marshmallows.
Drop the marshmallow into the glass jar.
Wrap the clay about 1 inch from the top of the straw to form a ball around the straw.
Place the short end of the straw into the jar.
Now press the clay around the mouth of the bottle so that the bottle is completely sealed and no air can get in or out.
Stand in front of a mirror so you can see the face on the marshmallows. 
Suck air out of the bottle and watch what happens. (It’s easier to take puffs of air out of the bottle to see the results.)
Now stop sucking on the straw and watch what happens to the marshmallows.

  The marshmallows have many air pockets. When you suck on the straw, the air pressure inside the jar decreases and the marshmallow expands. When you stop, the air pressure returns to normal. This returns the marshmallow back to its normal size.
 
 

THE SHRINKING MILK JUG
(GET HELP FROM MOM OR DAD)

MATERIALS:
Empty Plastic Gallon Milk Jug (with a screw top)

 PROCEDURE:
Have Mom or Dad fill the milk jug about a quarter of the way full with very hot water.
Cap it tightly and let it stand for about an hour.

The milk jug will crumple in on itself. When you added the hot water, it caused the air temperature inside the jug to rise.

While the container was sealed no air could get in or out of the jug so when the water inside the jug cooled, the air cooled and caused the pressure inside the jug to decrease. The pressure on the inside walls of the jug decreased but pressure from the outside did not, so the walls of the jug collapsed because of the push of the air from the outside.
 
 

MAKE LIGHTNING IN YOUR MOUTH

   MATERIALS:
Wint-O-Green or Pep-O-Mint Lifesavers
A dark room
Mirror

  PROCEDURE:
Go to a really dark room and stand in front of the mirror. Wait a few minutes until your eyes get accustomed to the darkness.
Put a Wint-O-Green or a Pep-O-Mint lifesaver in your mouth.
While keeping your mouth open, break the lifesaver up with your teeth and look for sparks. If you do it right, you should see small flashes of light.

When you break the lifesaver apart, you’re breaking apart sugars inside the candy. The sugars release little electrical charges in the air. These charges attract the oppositely charged nitrogen in the air. When the two meet, they make the tiny spark that you can see.
 
 

EGG IN A BOTTLE
(GET HELP FROM MOM OR DAD)

 MATERIALS:
Hard Boiled Egg (Peeled)
Bottle with a narrow neck (neck a little smaller than the egg)
Matches
A Small Piece of Paper (Rolled into a small Tube)
 

PROCEDURE:
Set the bottle on the table.
Have Mom or Dad light the end of the small paper roll and drop it into the bottle.
Let the paper burn inside the bottle for a few seconds then place the egg over the mouth of the bottle.

The burning paper heats the air inside the bottle. When air is heated it expands and takes up more room so some of it escapes out of the bottle. When the fire goes out, the air inside the bottle cools and takes up less room so air pressure inside the bottle is less than outside. The higher air pressure outside the bottle forces the egg into the bottle.
 
 

SHRINKING AIR 
(GET HELP FROM MOM OR DAD)

  MATERIALS:
2 Balloons
Box
Cooler
Hair dryer
Ice

  PROCEDURES:
Blow up both balloons so they are the same size.
Mark one "H" for hot and one "C" for cold.
Put the "C" balloon in the cooler with ice.
Put the "H" balloon in the box and have Mom or Dad heat it with the hair dryer.
After about 10 minutes of heating and cooling, take out both balloons and compare them.
 

Air pressure is what makes a balloon get large as you blow it up. The higher the air pressure in the ballon, the bigger the balloon gets. When the ballon is heated, the air inside it expands and the ballon gets bigger. When the ballon is cooled, the air inside it shrinks so it takes up less room and the ballon gets smaller.
 
 

THE DANCING QUARTER

 MATERIALS:
2-Liter Plastic Soda Bottle
A Quarter
Water

  PROCEDURE:
Place the empty uncapped bottle in the freezer for 10 minutes.
Dip the coin in water.
Remove the bottle from the freezer and immediately place the wet coin on the top of the open bottle.

When the bottle is removed from the freezer, the cold air inside the bottle begins to warm up. When air warms it expands so the air runs out of room and tries to rush out of the bottle. The air pushing up out of the bottle causes the coin to move.
 
 

  CHARGE UP A LIGHT BULB

   MATERIALS:
Fluorescent Light Bulb
Balloon

  PROCEDURE:
Turn all of the lights off in the room. (The darker the better!)
Rub the balloon on your hair for several seconds.
Hold the balloon near the end of the flourescent bulb.

When you rub the balloon on your hair, the balloon builds up an electrical charge (static electricity). Touching the charged balloon to the end of the fluorescent light bulb causes the electrical charge to jump from the balloon to the bulb. This is what illuminates the light bulb.

Lightning happens when an electrical charge leaps across the air from one place to another. Lightning can spark within one cloud, from one cloud to another or between a cloud and the ground.
 
 

TRACK A THUNDERSTORM

   MATERIALS:
Thunderstorm
Stopwatch

 PROCEDURE:
After you see a flash of lightning, use a stopwatch or count the number of seconds until you hear the thunder.

For every five seconds the storm is one mile away. So divide the number of seconds you count by five to get the number of miles you are from the storm.
 
 

MAKE THUNDER

  MATERIALS:
Brown Paper Lunch Bag

 PROCEDURE:
Blow into the brown paper lunch bag to fill it with air.
Hold it closed with your hand.
Quickly hit the bag with your free hand.

Hitting the bag causes the air inside the bag to compress so quickly that the pressure breaks the bag. The air rushes out and pushes the air outside away from the bag. The air continues to move out in a wave through the air. When the moving air reaches your ear, you hear a sound.

Thunder is produced in a way like this. When lightning strikes, it heats the air very fast and the heated air expands very quickly to make waves in the air that you hear as thunder.
 
 

  CLOUD IN A JAR
(GET HELP FROM MOM OR DAD)

 MATERIAL:
Gallon jar
Black construction paper
Tape
Warm water
Small plastic bag
Ice
Matches

  PROCEDURE:
Tape the black construction paper on the outside of the jar. This will make the cloud easier to see.
Put enough ice into a plastic bag so that the bag won't fall through the neck of the jar. 
Set this aside.
Have Mom or Dad pour warm water into the jar. 
Pour in enough so that the water covers 1 to 2 inches in the bottom of the jar.
Have Mom or Dad light a match and hold it just inside the top of the jar for a few seconds before dropping in into the water.
Immediately, place the bag of ice on top of the jar.
 

  The cloud forms between the water and the ice. A cloud happens when tiny invisible water drops in the air (this is called water vapor) become visible water drops. The water vapor becomes visible when it is cooled. That is what happens on a cold day when you can see your breath. Water vapor in the warm air leaving your mouth cools and makes small visible drops that hang in the air. The same thing happens when water is boiling on a stove. Water vapor in the warm air rising above boiling water cools to form drops called steam.
 
 

CLOUD IN A BOTTLE 
(GET HELP FROM MOM OR DAD)

  MATERIALS:
2-Liter Clear Plastic Soda Bottle
Matches
Warm Water

  PROCEDURE:
Have Mom or Dad fill the clear plastic 2-liter bottle one-third full of warm water.
Have Mom or Dad light a match, hold it near the opening of the bottle, then drop the match into the bottle.
Quickly put on the cap, trapping the smoke inside.
Slowly squeeze the bottle hard and release.
A cloud appears when you release and disappears when you squeeze.

As warm water evaporates, it adds tiny drops of water (called water vapor) to the air inside the bottle. This is the first ingredient needed to make a cloud. Water vapor in the air condenses (or forms larger drops of water that you can see) more easily when particles such as dust or smoke are added to the air. These particles are the second ingredient needed to make a cloud. Squeezing then releasing the bottle causes the air pressure to drop. The squeeze represents the warming that occurs in the atmosphere. The release represents the cooling that occurs in the atmosphere. The third ingredient in making clouds is the drop in air pressure.
 
 

MAKE IT RAIN
(GET HELP FROM MOM OR DAD)

 MATERIALS:
Large Glass Mayonnaise or Canning Jar
Plate
Hot Water
Ice Cubes
Index Cards

 PROCEDURE:
Have Mom or Dad pour about two inches of very hot water into the glass jar.
Cover the jar with the plate and wait a few minutes before you start the next step.
Put the ice cubes on the plate.

The cold plate causes the moisture in the warm air inside the jar to condense and form water droplets. This is the same thing that happens in the atmosphere. Warm, moist air rises and meets colder air high in the atmosphere. The water vapor condenses and eventually forms rain that falls to the ground.
 
 

  WATER CYCLE

 MATERIALS:
Small Paper Cup
Small Plastic Bag
Tape
Water

 PROCEDURES:
Put a small amount of water in the cup and set the cup in the bag.
Seal the bag closed with the cup of water inside and tape the bag to a sunlit window.

When the sun heats the bag, the water evaporates from the cup, which means that droplets of water so small that they are invisible (called water vapor) rise into the air. The water vapor collects on the inside of the bag and condenses into larger water drops. The larger drops will eventually drip down to the bottom of the bag.

This is what happens to the water in our rivers, streams, lakes, and oceans. The water evaporates into the air and rises with the heat of the sun. It condenses into small droplets and becomes clouds. When the droplets become big enough, they fall to the earth as rain.
 
 

  MAKE A RAINBOW

 MATERIALS:
Glass of Water
Sheet of White Paper
A Sunny Day

 PROCEDURE:
Make sure that the sun can shine through the glass of water. 
Put the full glass of water on a table near a window so that it is half on the table and half off of the table. 
Be careful so that the glass doesn't fall.
Place the white sheet of paper on the floor and adjust it and the glass of water until a rainbow forms on the paper.

Sunlight is made of a mixture of many colors. When sunlight passes through the water, it is broken up into the colors seen in a rainbow.
 
 

MAKE A RAIN GAUGE

    MATERIALS:
A Straight-sided Glass Container, such as a Bottle for Olives
Scissors
Clear Cellophane or Plastic Sandwich Bag
Tape
Sturdy Paper or Cardboard
Ruler
Rainy Day

  PROCEDURE:
Using the ruler and paper, make markings on the paper so that it becomes a ruler. 
Mark it by inches or quarters of inches or even smaller if you want. 
The National Weather Service measures rainfall in amounts of one hundredth of an inch.
Once you make the ruler, cut it out.
Cover the ruler with clear cellophane, front and back, to protect it from the rain.
 Stand the ruler inside the glass container so that the ruler rests on the bottom of the container.
Tape it to the inside of the jar so that the ruler does not fall.
Place your rain gauge outside in a place away from trees and buildings because these may block the rainfall and affect the amounts that get into your gauge. 
Also, you may wish to glue the jar to something sturdy like a block of wood so it does not tip over when it gets windy.
 
 

  MAKE A THERMOMETER
 (GET HELP FROM MOM OR DAD)

 MATERIALS:
Water
Rubbing Alcohol (DO NOT DRINK THIS)
Clear, Narrow-necked Plastic Bottle (11-ounce water bottles work well)
Food Coloring
Clear Plastic Drinking Straw
Modeling Clay

 PROCEDURE:
Pour equal parts of water and rubbing alcohol into the bottle filling about 1/8 to 1/4 of the bottle.
Add a couple of drops of food coloring and mix.
Put the straw in the bottle, (DO NOT DRINK MIXTURE) but don't let the straw touch the bottom.
Use the modeling clay to seal the neck of the bottle, so the straw stays in place.
Hold your hands on the bottle to warm the liquid, or place the bottle in a warmer spot, and watch what happens to the mixture in the straw.

The liquid expanded when it was warmed. As it expanded the colored mixture moved up through the straw. If the bottle were to get hot enough, the liquid would have come through the top of the straw.
 
 

  MAKE A BAROMETER

Do you know what the air pressure is today? You can find out for yourself by measuring the air pressure on a barometer.

 MATERIALS:
Small Coffee Can
Plastic Wrap
Straw
Index Card
Rubber Band

 PROCEDURE:
Cover the top of the can with plastic wrap, using a rubber band to hold the plastic wrap in place.
The plastic wrap cover should be tight to make the can airtight.
Lay the straw horizontally on the plastic wrap so that two-thirds of the straw is on the can.
Tape the straw to the middle of the plastic wrap.
Tape the index card to the can behind the straw.
Mark the location of the straw on the index card.
After 15 minutes (or the next day or whenever you want to check for changes in air pressure), mark the new location of the straw on the index card.

Be careful not to place your barometer near a window because changes in temperature affect changes in air pressure.
 
 

  MAKE A WIND VANE

 MATERIALS:
Straw
Straight Pin
Index Card
Pencil with Eraser
Tape

 PROCEDURE:
Cut the point and tail of an arrow out of an index card.
Tape them to the ends of the straw.
Push the pin through the middle of the straw.
Stick the pin into the eraser of the pencil. Make sure the straw can turn freely.

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