The students in Mr. Kane’s second grade class at Wilder Elementary learned about eco-friendly materials and how they can help us all go green. Mix two chemicals together and wait for the reaction. The chemicals produce a polymer called polyurethane foam. Polyfoam has a high R value and is used in furniture, packaging, insulation and floatation devices. Homebuilders spray the polyurethane into the walls of a house to give insulate against hot and cold weather. The lightweight foam expands to about 30 times its original liquid volume and becomes rigid.
For more information on making polyurethane foam and its uses, visit the experiment page. Steve Spangler Science does not sell or share the chemicals used in this experiment. For more information or to purchase it, call Flinn Scientific at 800-452-1261.
The BBC UK called our offices yesterday to get permission to use the Inside the Soda Can experiment, that I’ve done on 9News, for Chris Jeavans “plastic-free” blog. Chris is trying to live for one month without using any plastic products. As the soda can experiment proves, Chris is finding that this may be a harder task than she once expected! When you perform this experiment, you will find that aluminum cans actually have a plastic liner, which prevent the acid in pop from eating away at the metal can. Mark that up as one more product Chris will be eliminating from her life this month! Be sure to check out Chris’ blog for some great info on what it means to “go green” in this consumer-driven world. It’s always fun to see our experiments making it around the world.
