Hobbies And Interests
Strength and Shape
The children can learn about strength and shape-breaking strain by cutting paper towels up into a variety of sizes. Some should be long; others short. Some should be wide. Leave at least one full-sized. Have one child hold either end of one of the pieces of paper towel. Have another slowly stack metal washers up in the middle of the towel. Record how many washers it takes to make the towel break for each size and shape. They will observe that the longer the unsupported length of towel, the easier it is to break.
Weight and Breaking Strain
As a corollary, have the children wet some paper towels and then stack the weights on them. The towels will break much faster than they did when they were dry. Have the children try to figure out why this might be. One reason is that the water increases the weight that the towel is supporting, so it cannot handle as much additional weight before tearing.
Absorbency
Use several different types of paper towel to teach the children about absorbency. Pour a small amount of liquid into a dish and then place one of the paper towels on the liquid. Record how long each paper towel takes to absorb all the liquid, and whether each managed to absorb all of it. Make sure that you pour out exactly the same amount of liquid each time. Have the children make observations about the different types of paper towel, and correlate them with the results. See if thicker towels absorb more than thinner towels, if softer towels absorb more than harder towels, and if quilting has any effect. This experiment can serve as a springboard into a discussion on density, surface area, absorbency.
Gravity
Many people think that heavier objects fall faster than lighter objects. You can demonstrate to the children that this is not true by using paper towels. Cut three sides out of the bottom of a box, so that it is only attached by the fourth side. Tape the bottom so that it stays in its usual place, but use only one piece of tape. Put a rock and a paper towel in the box. Hold the box up high and remove the tape. The children will observe the rock falling quickly and the paper towel floating slowly to the ground. Repeat the procedure, but this time crumple the paper towel up tightly. This time, both will hit the ground together. This experiment can serve as a starting point for discussions about gravity and air friction.