10 Very Cool Home Science Experiments
Science isn’t something that necessarily needs to be done in the closed quarters of a lab. Many of the most brilliant experiments can be done in your own home and literally cost you almost nothing to make! So, just by using a bit of household equipment and items you would likely have anyway spend some time impressing your friends with a few of these! Here are ten of the most impressive!
10. The Homemade Volcano
Everyone at one time or another has constructed one of the most tried and true home science experiments: The Volcano. This is a simple and really impressive use of household acids and bases that can be made again and again.
What you’ll need:
A small empty plastic pop bottle (500 mL)
A funnel
Two measuring cups
1 cup of baking soda
1 cup of vinegar
1 tsp of Sunlight liquid dish detergent
Food coloring (optional)
Glitter (optional)
What to do:
1. Place the pop bottle in the bottom of your kitchen sink.
2. Insert the funnel into the pop bottle.
3. Pour the baking soda into the bottle using the funnel.
4. Add the dish detergent and the food coloring to the vinegar in the measuring cup.
5. Sprinkle some glitter on top of the baking soda.
6. Pour the vinegar mixture into the bottle and watch as your volcano erupts.
9. Rock Candy
Who doesn’t love sucking on a nice piece of hard candy? Well, why not make your very own at home! It only requires a few simple ingredients and just a little time and patience. Here is how to do it:
You will need
15cm piece of string
A pencil
A paper clip (or large plastic bead)
1 cup of water
2 cups of sugar
A glass jar
What to do
Tie the 15-cm piece of string to the middle of the pencil.Tie the paper clip (or bead) onto the end of the string.Put the pencil across the top of a jar so that the string hangs down the middle of the jar. If it hangs down too far, roll the string around the pencil until the string is not touching the sides or bottom of the jar. The string will act as a seed for the crystal. Any type of jar will do, but canning jars are best since they can endure the hot temperatures. Tall skinny olive jars are also nice because they don’t use up so much of the liquid.
Now that the string and pencil are ready remove them from the jar and put them aside.
Pour the water into a pan and bring it to boil.
Pour about 1/4 cup of sugar into the boiling water, stirring until it dissolves.
Keep adding more and more sugar, each time stirring it until it dissolves, until no more will dissolve. This will take time and patience and it will take longer for the sugar to dissolve each time. Be sure you don’t give up too soon.
Carefully pour the hot sugar solution into the jars to the top. Then submerge the paper clip and string into the sugar solution. Be sure the string hangs down in the middle of the jar.
Allow the jar to cool and put it someplace where it will not be disturbed. In a week or so you will have large crystals to enjoy!
8. Miniature Hovercraft
So you want your very own hovercraft? Of course it’s only big enough to hold a mouse or two, but it’s still pretty neat. Well, here’s what you are going to need for this experiment:
Cardboard
Pencil
Glue
Paper
Thread Spool
Balloon
Mouse (optional)
Cut a 4-inch square out of the cardboard.Punch a hole in the cardboard. Make sure you punch the hole in the center of the cardboard. The hole should be the same size as the hole in the spool.Glue the spool to the cardboard on top of the hole. Make sure you glue it really well and the holes line up. Make sure you use enough glue to seal it so that no air can escape between the spool and the piece of cardboard.Cover the top of the spool with a circle of paper – glue it to the spool and wait until the glue is dry.Punch a hole in the middle of the paper cover where the hole of the spool is. Now your hole should run through the paper, spool, and cardboard without any obstructions.Blow up the balloon and twist the end to keep the air from escaping. Stretch the balloon over the top of the spool.Make sure your mouse is well protected (optional step).Set the hovercraft on a level table. Let go of the balloon.
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