Hobbies And Interests
Pressurized Experiment
Provide kids with the following: a large piece of lemon peel (to cut into a boat shape), scissors, a mason jar filled with water to the top (with no lid), a balloon (with the long, narrow neck portion removed) and a rubber band. Instruct them to place the shaped peel into the jar of water, then stretch the balloon completely over the top. Have them add the rubber band to secure the balloon tightly over the jar's mouth before placing a finger to the balloon, observing the peel descend to the bottom. Air exiting the peel due to the finger pressure forces the peel downward, while removing the finger causes air to fill the lemon peel spaces again, forcing the peel to the surface.
Surface-Tension Experiment
Give your daughter a pint-sized jar with a screw-on lid, a small plastic screen, scissors and index cards. Instruct her to place the plastic screen on top of the jar before screwing down the lid. This will leave an imprint on the screen, which she should cut out and then place over the jar's mouth, screwing the lid (minus the round top insert) over it. She should fill the jar with water, place an index card on top of the screwed-on screen and gently turn the jar over, holding the index card against the opening while standing over a sink. No water should escape when she slowly removes the card. She will break the surface tension and ruin the trick if she touches the plastic screen.
Bone-and-Soda Experiment
Provide each child with a mason jar and lid, index card, their favorite soda drink and chicken bone, fingernails or construction nails. Instruct them to fill the jar with the soda of their choice and drop the chicken bone or other item down into it. Take a photo of it before they begin the experiment and ask them to note the date, time and soda used. Have each kid tape the card to their jar and leave for two weeks, coming back to see what the items look like later, and comparing their appearance to the beginning photos.
Ants and Sugar
Place two small torn pieces of paper plate on top of dirt in a mason jar. On one piece, place a small amount of table sugar; on other piece, place a small portion of a 10-mil mixture of honey and 20 mil of distilled water. Also, add a very small container of distilled water to the jar -- then add a few ants. Observe and record their actions. Note how many ants go to each plate or to the water during the first, second and third hour. This experiment shows the sugar preference for ants. Ensure you release the ants back outside after your experiment is completed.