Solar Bags are 50 feet long and are made from a very thin plastic. When inflated, the black plastic heats the air up inside the Solar Bag. The air expands and the bag floats in the air. Our fabulous and dedicated Steve Spangler Science crew ran across the outfield at Coors Field last week to fill the balloons up with air. We filled the stadium with Solar Bags.
Steve also gave 800 teachers, cub scout and girl scout leaders Solar Bags to take back to their group for a hands-on learning experience. If you are a teacher or educator that received a Solar Bag, we have a homework assignment for you. Give your students or kids a little lesson in the
Do you know how much sugar is in that can of soda you drink every afternoon? It’s well known that sugar accounts for the high calories in soda that lead to weight gain and unhealthy habits. But just how much is in that can and what about diet soda?
Start by placing different types and brands of soda into a bucket of water. Which ones will float and which ones will sink? Classify and take notes. Then move to the science behind your results. Why do some float and why do some sink?
Start with comparisons – we are going to use Coke and Diet Coke in our example. Both cans are the same size and hold the same volume 355 mL. The regular Coke weighs about 384 grams while the Diet Coke weighs 371 grams. The regular Coke has 140 calories, the diet
Tornado season and extreme weather have come early to parts of the midwest already this year. Tornadoes cause widespread damage and loss of lives. But what is the science behind what causes a tornado to form?
Tornadoes are funnels of spinning air. The winds may reach 250 (400 kilometers) an hour while they bounce and run across the land. They usually form during thunderstorms or supercells. A tornado forms when changes in wind speed and direction cause a horizontal spinning effect within the cloud. Rising air moving up through the cloud tips it vertically.
A funnel cloud does not reach the ground; a tornado touches the ground. The twisters don’t last for long, but can travel at speeds of 10 to 20 miles per hour on the ground.
Even though tornadoes occur around the world, the United States is a hotspot, especially along an area
What kind of cereal do you eat in the morning? Are you a Fruit Loops kind of person or more serious, like a Total cereal eater? Whatever you eat, turn the box to the side and look at the ingredients. If your cereal is “iron fortified” what does that mean? Is there really iron in your flakes?
Here’s an easy way to test for iron – take a bowl and pour a little water in it. Float a few flakes on the water. Then take a powerful magnet, like a Neodymium Magnet and without touching the flakes, try to make them move and follow the magnet through the water.
That proves the magnet is having an effect on the flakes, but is it really iron that is causing the attraction?
Who else but Steve shows up at a television studio and makes a request to hang a 16-pound bowling ball from the ceiling? It’s for science, silly, and a lesson in the Laws of Motion.
9News Anchorman Mark Koebrich helped Steve demonstrate energy and motion. When hung on a rope, the bowling ball becomes a pendulum. The ball swings back and forth. If Steve swings the ball and adds energy by pushing it like a kid on a swing, the ball will swing back farther than where it started.
If Steve asks Mark to stand in front of the swinging ball and lets it go, the ball should return only to its starting point and not go beyond it. This demonstrates that you only get out what you put in.
The key is not to move when the bowling ball comes swinging back at your
