We always love seeing our products in action… and we especially love it when someone finds a new use for one. We ran across this YouTube video featuring our Windbag (you can see our logo on the side) as a tool to help inflate an air mattress. As a tool for science teachers, the Windbag is an amazing activity that illustrates Bernoulli’s Principle. It’s possible to inflate an 8 foot bag with a single breath of air. How is that possible? The secret is to stand back and blow a stream of air into the bag. Bernoulli’s Principle teaches us that this fast-moving air creates an area of low pressure around the opening where outside air can also flow into the bag. Here’s the Windbag in action.
Simply attach the Windbag to the air nozzle on your sleeping pad, inflate it with one breath, then roll up the Windbag from the top towards the pad, pushing the air from the Windbag into the sleeping pad. Then Bam! you have a good night’s rest waiting for
In 1996 I was asked to be a student council sponsor at Willow Creek Elementary. We had a problem getting kids to show up to student council meetings at 7.30am.
Working with Dr. Earl Reum, we came up with the idea of using engaging science demonstrations to help illustrate some basic concepts of leadership and team building. We called the program the Science of Leadership – where kids learn how to act as leaders and develop their leadership skills using science experiences. One of our first connections used a classic demo called a Windbag or a Bernoulli Bag to teach the concept of goal setting and the idea of using lots of “outside help” to accomplish what seems to be impossible. A Windbag is a giant plastic bag measuring 8 feet long by 10 inches around. Ask how many breaths it will take to blow up the bag? About 40-50? If you know the secret, you can inflate the giant bag in a single breath. The secret is to hold your mouth away from the bag, breathe, and the fast-moving stream of air from your lungs helps to pull air in from the side. It’s
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