How to Make Leaf Electroscopes

Make a small hole in the cork. You can use the awl to push a hole through the cork.

Slide the wire through the hole in the cork until about 2 inches protrude below the bottom of the cork. Put a 90 degree bend in the final 1/4-inch of the wire.

Cut a 2-inch by 1/4-inch rectangle out of the foil. You may find it easier to do this with the foil between two pieces of heavy weight paper. Put enough pressure on the paper to keep it from shifting while you cut.

Drape the metal foil carefully over the bent portion of the wire, so the long halves of the foil hang down evenly on either side of the wire support. The foil is very thin, and it might take several tries to get this to work. You might find it easier to keep the foil on the piece of paper you had underneath it while you were cutting; then you can slide it onto the support without ever touching it.

Put the cork in the neck of the flask, with the foil suspended into the flask below.

Bend the top 3/4-inch of the wire at a 90 degree angle, then bend that section again in the middle at another 90 degree angle. You can stop here, or continue on to the next step.

Sand the outside of the small aluminum can down to bare metal and solder it to the bent wire protruding from the top of the flask.