The 4th graders at Willow Creek Elementary and their amazing teacher, Lisa Heaton, took a lesson out of the books, literally, and tested their rocket-building skills.
They read Homer Hickam’s book, Rocket Boys. Then they set out on their own to design and build a rocket out of construction paper, tape and clay. That’s it. No engines or explosives helped launch these rockets into the air. They simply used air pressure.
I first learned how to make the PVC Rocket Launcher several years ago while speaking to teachers at Space Camp for Educators in Huntsville, Alabama. This hands-on rocket activity is an extension of the normal space unit that is standard at this grade level across the school district.
Each student was given two launch tries. Some of the rocket designs were great while others just blew up on the launch pad. For those that failed the first attempt, they had to go back to the drawing board to reanalyze their designs, fix the flaws and head back out for the second launch. The success rate for
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Are you looking to add a little science into your Valentine’s Day? Have no fear, because the Science Love Doctor is in.
Love Meter
Are you hot enough to make the Love Meter boil? Simply grab the meter at the bottom and watch what happens. Is this really measuring your love or is it using your body heat?
The Love Meter is actually called a Hand Boiler. When the gas in the bottom bulb is heated with your hand, the increase in temperature creates an increase in air pressure. This increased pressure pushes the liquid up the tube to the top bulb. When all of the liquid transfers from the bottom bulb, air bubbles are forced up the tube, causing the liquid in the top
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One glass mason jar filled with water and capped off with a simple index card put the fear of getting wet into 9News Weathercaster Becky Ditchfield. She was worried she’d get wet. The threat of moisture invading her hair style and outfit was low, but she didn’t know that.
Fill the jar to the top with water, then cover the opening with a card. Turn the jar upside down and remove the card. Place said jar over a lucky volunteer’s head and the water doesn’t spill out. How does this work?
The science lies in the screen that secretly covers the top of the jar.
As long as the jar wasn’t tipped, Becky had nothing to worry about. The water is suspended in the jar because of air pressure and surface tension. When the jar is turned over, air pressure
Can you defeat the odds and create a hovering paper airplane? All you need is a sheet of paper, 2 identical fans and a lot of patience. This is a great experiment to teach the principals behind how an airplane flies, lift and drag, and the principals of air. Watch the video and then try this at home. Can you get the airplane to hover on the air currents?
I took a large smoke ring blaster that I used on the Ellen DeGeneres Show to the 9News studios in Denver this week. I demonstrated the power of air pressure and what a microburst looks like. What resulted was giant smoke rings blown across the television studio and scripts and hairdos in chaos.
The smoke ring blaster is a larger version of the Airzooka toy. It was built for a sub shop promo in Minneapolis. I asked if I could use it to teach kids about air pressure.
The 4th graders at Willow Creek Elementary and their amazing teacher, Lisa Heaton, took a lesson out of the books, literally, and tested their rocket-building skills.
