Glow in the Dark Experiments

Who doesn't like stuff that glows, and I figured it was appropriate for Halloween :)

Glow Sticks

An easy way to get glowing is glow sticks. Basically it is a chemical reaction between two compounds that, when mixed, release excess energy as light. If you are interested, it is a process called chemiluminescence.I found that the kids understood the idea of a chemical reaction if you talk about mixing baking soda and vinegar, as most have done that.

Once we understood a little more about chemical reactions, I actually cut open one of the glow sticks. Each glow stick is actually made of two sticks; one plastic one that you feel, and one glass one that is lodged inside. When you crack a glow stick you are actually breaking the inner glass tube that releases one chemical into the other and presto, instant light!

Glow Paint

Let your participants paint a design on a black piece of paper without telling them that it is glow in the dark paint. Once they are finished, turn off the lights and watch their surprise. Once they've seen the affect, you can talk about the science behind it called photoluminescence (the paint absorbs photons and then releases them in the dark is the short answer hehe. Another way of thinking about it is the paint getting excited and then releasing this excitement as light, just like we might release our excitement by dancing).

Finally, we mixed some GAK with glow paint (but glow powder would work just as well). This experiment is fun to do no matter what, and seeing it glow in the dark after you mix it just makes it that much cooler =D

Messy Experiments!

So science experiments are some of our most popular programs, and one of our most popular science experiments programs is Messy Experiments. Why? Because its awesome!

As I've mentioned before, I love Steve Spangler, and these are the ones I stole this time :)

Diet Coke Mentos Geyser

If you drop a handful of Mentos into a full 2-liters of Diet Coke, you get a fabulously sticky and awesome geyser that goes about 20 feet up! Can't stress the fun and awesomeness of this one hehe.

Color Changing Milk 

Drop some food coloring into some milk, and then dip some dish-washing soap (I use Dawn) into the milk. The milk isn't a big fan of the dawn, so the colored milk runs away from the soap. Cool stuff!

Quicksand Goo (or Oblique)

If you add corn starch and water together in the right proportions, it will be hard if you hit it, but soft if you slide through it. Awesome!

Vinegar and Baking Soda...with a twist

If you put a layer of baking soda in a container, and then drop colored vinegar onto it, it smokes and leaves a cool design. Try it! I thought this was a fun twist on the vinegar and baking soda experiments that you normally see. Got this idea from Pinterest :)

Pop Rockets

Last but not least, get some old 35mm film canisters, put some water and alka-selzer into them, and watch what happens. Experiment with changing the level of water, the amount of alka-selzer, and the temperature of the water.

Experiments with Forces and Motion

As many of you know, the Hayden Library isn't open on holidays, so I wasn't able to post a Program Idea this Monday, which happened to be Memorial Day. But, I figured I'd give you one today, and move our Book Blurt to tomorrow.

Our Ka-Boom: Science Experiments program this month was about Forces and Motion, and it was pretty awesome!

When I look for science experiments, Steven Spangler's website is the first place I look, and this month was no exception :)

Do Not Open-Soda Prank

While this would be hillarious to actually try as a prank, it also works as a science experiment. If you poke holes in a soda bottle and then screw the lid back on, the water doesn't come out. Why?

Egg Drop

While Spangler calls for a pie dish and some eggs, I just use a paper plate and a juggling ball (doesn't make as much of a mess). But either way, this is a fun experiment that teaches kids about the law of inertia.

Hammer Balance

So one problem with remembering experiments instead of where you got them is that you can do the experiment again, but you can't point people to where you got it from. But luckily, this experiment isn't too hard to do. Basically, you put a ruler half on and half off a table, make a loop out of a string, and balance a hammer against the ruler. The top picture is what it looks like.

When you ask the kids if you can balance a hammer with a ruler, they don't think its possible, but they think its pretty cool when you can. They also like trying to see how far they can get the ruler off of the table before everything falls apart.

Magic Pendulum Catch

This may seem super simple, but it is currently my favorite experiment. If you have one hex nut on one side of a string, and fifteen hex nuts on the other, what does is create?

Tornado in a Bottle

Most likely everyone has doen this before. But, that doesn't mean it isn't fun to do it again hehe.