Balloon science day

Another great week at summer camp. These 12 hour days are wearing me out, though. This time, I’m sharing our balloon science day.

The opening trick is a simple polymer science. We talk about how to pop balloons. Not surprisingly, sharp things are at the top of that list. To the students amazement, wooden skewers dipped in dish soap or oil don’t pop the balloon when carefully inserted at the bottom and through the top. The skewer can go in one end and out the other without a pop.

The next is the old static electricity experiment. We rub the balloons on our heads and see what will be attracted. Just for fun, i brought a gag bulb. It looks like a regular lightbulb, but it has a small battery inside. When the circut is completed, the bulb lights up. The kids didn’t know and thought it was their voracious rubbing. Luckily, no one besides me left with a bald spot.

Then we did an experiment with fire and a laser. I don’t have any pictures of the laser experiment, but the fire one was simpler. The students put a balloon with water over a lit candle and counted how long it would take to burst.

The final experiment involves tacks. We put a lot of tacks on the table and set a balloon on top. Then we placed a dictionary on the balloon. We only had one explosion. This was because the student didn’t set the balloon on the tacks evenly.

I don’t have a picture of that one. But i have a video of everything on our YouTube site. Feel free to watch the video

All photos and videos are taken or owned by me.