Activity

Reflective mobiles

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Reflective mobiles

Make mobiles out of recycled materials and investigate how light reflects from different surfaces.

Overview



Have you ever wondered what causes different materials to sparkle and shine? Make these reflective mobiles using any sparkly materials you have in your home, scissors, glue and string.


Printable version

This page will print, but looks a little funky. Click the button for a PDF version which looks a bit better.

What you’ll need

  • String
  • Scissors
  • A pencil
  • A lump of sticky tack
  • Glue
  • A foil container such as a take away dish or a piece of card as a base
  • Shiny materials such as foil, glitter, Christmas wrapping paper and ribbons, CDs, tinsel, washed yoghurt lids, sweet wrappers… anything shiny!

Duration

10-15 min

Suitable for…

Age 4 and up.

Safety notes

You know your children better than anyone, and you should judge whether they’re ready for this activity. You might want to think in particular about:

  • Always take care when using scissors.
  • Small objects can cause choking.
  • Glue can cause damage to carpets and furniture.


What to do


Step 1



If  you are using a piece of card as your base, decide on the shape you want the main part of your mobile to be and cut this out.

If you are using a foil container as a base, go straight to step 2.

Step 2



Stick your shiny materials onto your base.

If you are using card, try to cover as much of the surface as possible.

Step 3



Next, make holes in your mobile. Do this by putting the sticky tack underneath the card and poking your pencil firmly through the card from the top.


Step 4


Tie a loop of string to the top of your mobile for hanging it up. Add any string or ribbon to the bottom of your mobile, ready to attach more materials to.


Step 5


Add any extra material to the bottom of your mobile by threading it through or tying it to your string or ribbon.

Don’t make it too heavy or it might rip your foil or card base.

Hang your mobile in a sunny place in your home.



Things to discuss

  • Which materials on your mobile are the shiniest?
  • How did you decide this?
  • Are there places in your house (or garden if you have one) where your mobile looks shinier?
  • Which time of the day does your mobile look shiniest?


How it works

Light comes from a source like the Sun or a light bulb and travels in straight lines. When light hits an object, it bounces off it (is reflected) and enters our eyes. This is how we see.

Some things, like mirrors or metallic objects, are better at reflecting light that others. It’s their ability to reflect light well that makes them look shiny.

Watch this video to find out more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zbssgk7/articles/zqdxb82   



Other things to try

Make a foil spiral



You will need:

A 60 cm length of foil

String or ribbon

Scissors

A weight such as a CD, bauble or stone.

First get a piece of foil about 60 cm long and begin rolling it up tightly from long side.



Step 1



Continue rolling until you have a long, thin length of foil. If there is any space between the layers, squash them together to make a solid shape.



Step 2



Take hold of one end of the foil and wrap the other end around and around your hand.



Step 3



Carefully take it off your hand and you should have created a foil spiral.



Step 4



Cut a piece of string or ribbon about 20 cm longer than your spiral. Tie your CD, stone or other object to one end. Thread the other end through the middle of the spiral and tie it to the top of the spiral. If the string is long enough, use it to make a loop to hang the sprial up or to tie it to your reflective mobile.

If you don’t have string left, cut a new length to make your loop.

More STEM at Home



What you’ll need

  • String
  • Scissors
  • A pencil
  • A lump of sticky tack
  • Glue
  • A foil container such as a take away dish or a piece of card as a base
  • Shiny materials such as foil, glitter, Christmas wrapping paper and ribbons, CDs, tinsel, washed yoghurt lids, sweet wrappers… anything shiny!

Duration

10-15 min

Suitable for…

Age 4 and up.

Safety notes

You know your children better than anyone, and you should judge whether they’re ready for this activity. You might want to think in particular about:

  • Always take care when using scissors.
  • Small objects can cause choking.
  • Glue can cause damage to carpets and furniture.

STEM Career: Optical Engineer

Optical Engineers research, design and build devices that use light, like cameras or telescopes. In telescopes, they use what they know about how light travels and reflects off different surfaces to create technology that allows us to see distant stars and detect planets!

Insulating Ice

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Insulating Ice

Using different materials explore how to insulate ice cubes.

Overview


Have you ever wondered how to stop the ice cubes in your drink melting? In this investigation you will use materials from around your home to discover which help to slow down ice melting. You just need your materials, some plastic pots, sticky tape and some ice to try this out.

This investigation follows on from our Melting Ice  activity, but it works as an independent activity for older children.


Printable version

This page will print, but looks a little funky. Click the button for a PDF version which looks a bit better.

What you’ll need

  • Clean, empty yoghurt pots or other plastic containers
  • Ice cubes trays to make ice or you can freeze a small amount of water at the bottom of your containers
  • A variety of materials for testing, e.g. plastic bags, tin foil, paper, fabric, cling film…whatever you have at home
  • Sellotape
  • Scissors
  • A timer or clock
  • Paper and a pencil or pen for recording

Duration

Time for your ice to freeze. About 30 minutes to set up your investigation, then about 2 to two and a half hours for your ice to melt

Suitable for…

Age 7 and up.

Safety notes

You know your children better than anyone, and you should judge whether they’re ready for this activity. You might want to think in particular about:

  • Always take care when using scissors.
  • Remember that plastic bags can cause suffocation.
  • Spillages can make floors slippy.


What to do


Step 1



Fill up your ice cube trays with water. Try to get the same amount of water in each section so that your ice cubes are equal sizes. Put them in the freezer to freeze.

If you are freezing water directly into the bottom of your container, don’t put more than a cm in each one or it will take too long to melt!

Step 2



Cut a section of your material that is big enough to wrap around your whole container, including the top.

Step 3



Use the section of the material you have just cut as a template. Cut your other materials to the same size.

You should have:

  • a few sections of different material cut to the same size,
  • the same number of containers,
  • sticky tape and scissors.

Step 4


Wrap your material around the sides and bottom of your container and secure it with a piece of sticky tape. Leave the top of the container open.


Step 5


Do the same with your other pieces of material and containers.


Step 6


Decide where you are going to keep your ice while you carry out your investigation. It all needs to be in the same place as we want the temperature to be the same for each container.

Make sure your containers are not touching each other then put an ice cube in each container.


Step 7


Wrap up the top of your container and secure it with sticky tape. Set your timer for 15 minutes if you are using one. If not, note down the time and wait for 15 minutes.


Step 8


While you are waiting, make a chart to record the results of your investigation, use our example as a guide.

You will need to include the materials you used and the time it takes to melt, as shown in the photograph.


Step 9


After 15 minutes, unwrap the top of one of your containers and observe what has happened to the ice. Wrap up the container again before moving onto your next one.

Make sure you return your containers back to the same position.


Step 10


Now time another 15 minutes. Record your observations on your chart.

Has your ice started to melt yet?


Step 11


Check your containers and observe what has happened to the ice every 15 minutes. You could note down information such as:

  • how much of the ice has melted
  • how much of the container is covered in water
  • which ice cube is melting the fastest
  • which is melting the slowest when the ice has completely melted


Things to discuss

  • Which ice cube took the longest to melt?
  • Which material was the best at keeping the ice cool?
  • Why do you think this was?
  • Which ice cube took the least time to melt?
  • Which material was the worst at keeping the ice cool?
  • Why do you think this was?
  • Which material would you choose to create a covering for a cup to stop your ice from melting as quickly?


How it works

When you took your solid ice cubes out of the cold freezer and put them in different places around your home, they began to melt. The temperature in your home is usually around 18°C. When ice is in a place that is above 0°C, it begins to melt and becomes liquid – water. In places where your home was warmer, the ice melted more quickly.

The reason your ice melted is because it absorbed energy from the room it was in. It does this when energy is transferred to it through the materials it is touching or the air surrounding it. You tried to stop your ice absorbing energy by insulating it with your different materials.

Good insulators are materials that do not conduct or transfer energy well and keep your ice from melting. Things like polystyrene, bubble wrap and cotton wool are good insulators. Materials that are good conductors transfer energy quickly. Metals are a good example of conductors.



Other things to try

Insulate the inside of your container


You will need: plastic containers, a selection of materials, scissors, ice cubes.

Cut a piece of one of your materials big enough to wrap up an ice cube.




Put your material inside your container, then put your ice cube inside the material.




Wrap fold over the material so that the ice cube is covered.

Check every 15 minutes and see how long it takes the ice to melt.

This time you won’t be able to see how much your ice is melting, as some of the materials will absorb the water.




Things to discuss

  • Did the ice cubes take a longer or shorter time to melt when they were insulated in this way?
  • Why do you think this happened?
  • Which investigation did you find more interesting and why?

Other things to try

Wrap your containers in tinfoil


Try covering your insulated container with tin foil. Foil is a good insulator and will keep the ice cube cooler for longer.



More STEM at Home


What you’ll need

  • Clean, empty yogurt pots or other plastic containers
  • Ice cubes trays to make ice or you can freeze a small amount of water at the bottom of your containers
  • A variety of materials for testing, e.g. plastic bags, tin foil, paper, fabric, cling film…whatever you have at home
  • Sellotape
  • Scissors
  • A timer or clock
  • Paper and a pencil or pen for recording

Duration

Time for your ice to freeze. About 30 minutes to set up your investigation, then about 2 to two and a half hours for your ice to melt

Suitable for…

Age 7 and up.

Safety notes

You know your children better than anyone, and you should judge whether they’re ready for this activity. You might want to think in particular about:

  • Always take care when using scissors.
  • Remember that plastic bags can cause suffocation.
  • Spillages can make floors slippy.

STEM Career: Materials scientist

Blah

Paper Pillars

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Paper Pillars

Discover which paper shapes are the strongest

Overview


During this investigation you will discover which shape of paper tower can hold the most books before they collapse. All you need is paper, a ruler, a pencil and some sticky tape and you are ready to start.


Printable version

This page will print, but looks a little funky. Click the button for a PDF version which looks a bit better.


What to do


Step 1



Your investigation begins by making three paper pillars: a cylinder, a cuboid and a triangular prism.

To make your triangular prism, turn your paper width ways (landscape) and divide it into 3 with your ruler. If you are using A4 paper, this is about 10 cm per section.

Step 2



Now fold along the lines to make your triangular prism pillar.

Step 3



To make your cuboid pillar, turn a second piece of paper width ways (landscape). Fold the paper in half, then fold each half in to the centre.

To make your cylinder pillar you just need to stick the two short edges of your paper together.

Step 4



The tricky bit is sticking your shapes together.

Put one of the short edges of your paper flat on the table or surface you are using. Cut a piece of sellotape and stick it along the short edge of your paper, so it is half on, half off, as shown in the photograph.

Smooth the down the tape on the paper. Try not to stick it to the table!

Step 5



Turn the paper over so that the sticky side of the is upwards. Put the other short edge of the paper on top of the sticky taped edge, matching the corners and edge together, as if you were folding the page in half.

Don’t push down!

Instead, carefully fold the sticky tape over the edge to stick the two short sides of the paper together.

Step 6



Time for testing!

Which pillar do you predict will hold the most books?

Put your first paper pillar, upright in a space on a flat surface.

Very carefully, place one book (or whatever you are using as a weight) on top of your pillar. Make sure the pillar is right in the centre of the book.

Keep adding books until the pillar can no longer withstand the weight and collapses.

Step 7



Test all three of your paper pillars and see which one can hold the most books. You could record your results in a table like the one in the photograph.

Step 8



Try making some different shapes.

If you are using A4 paper the width is about 30 cm, so you could make a pentagonal prism by dividing your page into five sections of 6 cm, a hexagonal prism by making six sections of 5 cm or a decagonal prism with 10 sections of 3 cm.

We made our octagonal prism by folding the paper in half, into quarters and each quarter in half again to make eighths. Test each one and record your results on your table.


Things to discuss

Time to look at your results table.

Which pillar held the most books? Which pillar held the least? Why do you think that is?

Does the number of corners (vertices) and faces make a difference? Do shapes with more vertices and faces hold more books?

Do odd numbers or even numbers of vertices and faces make any difference to the results?

Have you noticed any patterns of your own?


How it works

Your investigation was about creating the most support for your weight using the material available. Even though each of your paper pillars was made out the exactly the same material, you probably found that the cylinder was the strongest. This is because each point on the surface of a cylinder is an equal distance from it’s centre so the weight of the books, or load, can be equally spread through the pillar. With the cuboid and triangular prism pillars, some points (the folds) are further away from the centre and are areas of  weakness. Cylinders don’t have any folds, so they don’t have any points of weakness.


Other things to try

What happens when you test different size pillars?




What do you think will happen if you make your pillars taller or shorter?

If you are using A4 paper, turn it length ways (portrait) and repeat the experiment.

What happens if you make your pillars shorted? You could try cutting your paper in half and in quarters and repeating the investigation.

You can record your results in a table like the one in the photograph so you can compare them easily.

Do taller or shorter pillars hold more weight?

Did you spot any patterns in your results?


How high can you build using your pillars?




You may have noticed in buildings that two pillars or columns hold up a beam or lintel that supports the wall above.

You could now test how tall a structure you can build using your pillars as supports and your books as lintels.

Look back at your results and decide on the best shape and size pillar. This will be the one that held the most books. You will need to make quite a few pillars then start constructing!

How high did you get your structure?

How do you think you could improve your structure?

How could you make it more stable?


What else can you build?




You could try building different structures using your pillars and books.

Which was the tallest structure you built?

Which was the most stable?

Why do you think this is?

More STEM at Home


What you’ll need

  • Paper – 3 pieces the same size and thickness. We used A4 but you can use any size.
  • Sticky tape
  • Ruler
  • Pencil
  • Books – these need to be about the same size and weight. You could use other objects of the same size and weight for your testing, e.g. coins or cutlery (don’t use anything that will smash!)
  • Scissors (for the additional activities)

Duration

30 minutes or so.

Suitable for…

Age 4 and up, although younger children will need help and close supervision.

Safety notes

You know your children better than anyone, and you should judge whether they’re ready for this activity. You might want to think in particular about:

  • Supervision when using scissors
  • This activity causes the paper pillars to collapse. You will need to be in a large space on a surface that won’t be damaged by falling books or other items.
  • Children may require close supervision during the testing phase to avoid getting in the way of falling books/other items.

Careers link – Architect

Architects plan and design structures such as houses, schools, office buildings, stadiums and shopping centres. They may even plan and design outdoor spaces. Architects need to visit the site location so they can visualise what their structure will look like, then prepared scaled drawings for the person employing them. Architects need to take into consideration factors such as environmental impact, planning laws and disability access.

The skills and attributes you need to be an architect are imagination, observation and organisation.


Buildings with pillars in our local area

There are lots of examples of pillars or columns in architecture. Look carefully at the shapes of the columns on these structures. Why do you think the different shaped pillars have been used?

Can you find any examples in your local area? You may find them in your street or you may find examples in nature.


Theatre Royal



City Hall



Newcastle Central Station



Grey’s Monument



Tyne Bridges



Dunston Staithes


Balancing

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Balancing

Discover how to weigh and balance your toys using equipment from around your home.

Overview


Using “Room on a Broom” by Julia Donaldson as inspiration, this activity uses a coat hanger, string, containers and  small toys to investigate how we can get objects to balance on a beam.

This activity starts very simply, so is suitable for young children, and progresses into increasingly challenging tasks for older children.


Printable version

What you’ll need

  • a coat hanger with a straight edge
  • scissors
  • sticky tape
  • three pieces of string, wool, thread or pipe cleaners cut to the same length
  • three yogurt pots, disposable cups or equal sized plastic or paper containers
  • three small toys of different weights

Duration

30 minutes or so for each activity.

Suitable for…

Age 4 and up.

Safety notes

You know your children better than anyone, and you should judge whether they’re ready for this activity. You might want to think in particular about:

  • Supervision: the activity involves small parts, so there’s a choke hazard.
  • Remember to supervise children with scissors.
  • Sticks might have sharp points to watch out for.


What to do


Step 1



Watch this video to listen to “Room on a Broom” by Julia Donaldson. Older children may want to skip this step. It is not needed to complete the activity, but you may find it useful!

How do you think the witch and the animals stay on the broom while it is flying through the air?

Your children may already know that they need to balance. Talk about times when we need to balance, such as standing on one leg, walking along a narrow wall or riding our bikes.

What happens when we are trying to balance and start to wobble and fall to one side?

We balance ourselves out by shifting our weight to the other side. We know that to balance whatever we put on one side of a centre point must be equal to what we put on the other side.

Step 2



Collect everything that you need for the activity. When selecting your toys, make sure that they fit into your containers, and that they are not too heavy to be supported by sticky tape.

Step 3



Attach one piece of string to the bottom of your container using sticky tape. Run the string up the side of the container and secure it with sticky tape below the brim. Loop the string through the triangle of the coat hanger, then attach the string to the opposite side of the container, on the bottom and below the brim.

Attach a second container to the coat hanger in the same way.

Step 4



Hang your coat hanger on a door knob or handle. Push your containers to opposite ends of the coat hanger, as far as they will go. Your coat hanger should hang straight and balanced.

Put one toy in each container.

Which toy is heaviest? Which toy is lightest?  How do you know?

Is the coat hanger balanced? How can you tell?

Step 5



The coat hanger will be level when the toys are balanced.

Slide the heavier container along the coat hanger until your toys are balanced.

How far along the coat hanger do you need to move the container until it is balanced?

Try this again with two more toys.

Which is the heaviest toy this time?

Try again with the final combination of toys.



Things to discuss

Which was your heaviest toy?

Which was your lightest toy?

What do you notice about the weight of the toy and how far you needed to move it along the coat hanger to balance?


Challenge: Can you balance three toys?



Add another container to your coat hanger (see step 2) and put one toy  into each container.

Can you get the coat hanger to balance?

How did you do it?

What happens if you use different combinations of coins?

Try putting one coin in one container, 2 coins in the second and three in the third.

How do you get them to balance?

What happens when you use different numbers of coins?



How does it work?

Our coat hanger works like a seesaw. The pivot point (the point around which something can move or turn) is the hook part in the middle.

When we put a container on one end of the hanger, gravity pulls the it down more in that direction. To balance the coat hanger, we need to hang a weight of the same size on the other side of the hanger.

As you have found, it isn’t just the weight of the object that is important, but the position of the container as well.  The containers aren’t attached symmetrically on the coat hanger – they are not equally spaced from the centre or pivot point. Even if you have two toys that are the same weight, the hanger can tip in one direction by moving one of the containers nearer or further away from the pivot point.



Other things to try – Balancing on a broom


Have another look at the  “Room on a Broom” story to see if you can spot where the broom is balanced by the witch, the cauldron and the animals. First of all think about the weight of these things. Which are heaviest? Which are lightest? Is the dog heavier than the cat? Is the cauldron lighter than the witch?

Skip to 0:14. Why isn’t the broom balanced? Who should hold the cauldron?

Skip to 1:32. Is the broom balanced now? Why?

Skip to 3:14. Which animals do you think should move and where to?

Skip to 7:31. Do you think this is the best design for the broom?

We decided to make our own version of the broom. We used 18 coins and ordered the characters from heaviest to lightest as: 1. the witch, 2. the dog, 3. the cat and the cauldron equally, 4. the frog and 5. the bird.

Can you work out how many coins we put in each container?

You may want to recreate the broom. We found some pictures of the characters here.

How many coins will represent each of your characters? How will you make your broom balance?



Other things to try – Make a mobile



You will need:

  • a coat hanger with a straight edge, or two if you have them
  • scissors
  • string, wool, thread or pipe cleaners
  • a variety of objects from your home – they need to be light enough to be held by your stringing material.

Step 1:  Decide how far below the coat hanger that you want your objects to dangle.  Add a little extra length at each end for tying to the hanger and object, and cut a length of your string. Tie one end the string securely to your object. Loop the other end of the string through the triangle of the coat hanger and tie it so that it can slide along the bottom bar. Slide the object to one end of the coat hanger.

Step 2: Attach your second object to the coat hanger in the same way and slide it to the opposite end of the coat hanger. Hang your coat hanger on a door knob or handle. Slide the strings along the bar until the coat hanger is balanced.

Step 3: Add two more objects to your coat hanger and then slide them along the bar until the coat hanger is balanced. You can add more objects onto the first coat hanger if you wish to, or if you only have one coat hanger. Slide the objects along the coat hanger to make it balance.

Step 4: Add objects to your second coat hanger and adjust them until the coat hanger is balanced. Finally, hang the second coat hanger onto the bar of the first coat hanger.

Does it need to go exactly in the centre on the pivot point?

Things to think about:

We already know that the weight and position of an object can be used to adjust the balance of a beam, but does the length of the string make a difference?



Other things to try – Make a balancing challenge mobile!


Now it is time to put the balancing skills you have learned to the test with an advanced mobile challenge. We like this twig mobile activity from the Babble Dabble website. All you need are sticks, string, scissors and a weight, but you could try using kebab sticks, straws, cutlery or kitchen utensils to complete this challenge.

The mobile challenge on the video uses thick paper, scissors, string, straws or kebab skewers, but you could use cereal box card, old greetings cards or paper folded double to make your shapes. You again could use sticks, cutlery or kitchen utensils to make this mobile.

What will you design and create?

More STEM at Home


What you’ll need

  • a coat hanger with a straight edge
  • scissors
  • sticky tape
  • three pieces of string, wool, thread or pipe cleaners cut to the same length
  • three yogurt pots, disposable cups or equal sized plastic or paper containers
  • three small toys of different weights

Duration

30 minutes or so for each activity.

Suitable for…

Age 4 and up.

Safety notes

You know your children better than anyone, and you should judge whether they’re ready for this activity. You might want to think in particular about:

  • Supervision: the activity involves small parts, so there’s a choke hazard.
  • Remember to supervise children with scissors.
  • Sticks might have sharp points to watch out for.

Do you like balancing?

What do you think is helping these tightrope walkers to balance?



Career link – Aerospace Engineer

Knowing about balance is really important when designing aircraft. Just like we’ve been moving the containers to balance our coat hangers, the weight of an aeroplane (the aeroplane itself plus the fuel, people and baggage) needs to be distributed throughout the plane, around its balance point. Imagine what would happen if the plane was heavier at the front or on one side!

Aerospace engineers design, build and maintain aircraft, spacecraft, and satellites. They can be involved in creating and testing new designs, researching ways to make fuel efficient parts, developing navigation systems, or supervising the manufacture and maintenance of aircraft or spacecraft.

Attributes: creative, passionate, tenacious

Visit this BBC Bitesize page to find our more about aeroplane design, or visit our Aerospace Engineer page for more activities to do with flight.

Shadow tubes

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Shadow tubes

Use objects and materials you have around your home to investigate shadows.

Overview


Discover how to create shadows using a toilet roll tube, a torch, some cling film and paper, stickers or foil.

This 15 minute activity includes a story for younger children and investigations for older children.


Printable version

This page will print, but looks a little funky. Click the button for a PDF version which looks a bit better. This is a stop-gap while we work on a better solution!

What you’ll need

  • A blank wall, door or cupboard to create your shadow on
  • Toilet or kitchen roll tube, or rolled up dark coloured paper or card
  • A torch – there will probably be one on your phone
  • Cling film, a clear plastic bag or clear plastic food wrapping
  • Paper, foil or foam shapes, pipe cleaners, buttons, stickers or anything else you can stick to the clingfilm to block the light
  • Glue, sticky tack or rolled up sticky tape

Duration

15 minutes or so.

Suitable for…

Age 3 and up.

Safety notes

You know your children better than anyone, and you should judge whether they’re ready for this activity. You might want to think in particular about:

  • Supervision: the activity involves small parts, so there’s a choke hazard.
  • Glue can damage carpets.


What to do


Step 1



The Black Rabbit by Phillipa Leathers is a story all about a Rabbit and its shadow.

It’s written for younger children, so if you have older children you may want to skip straight to Step 2!

The Black Rabbit is a great way to start talking about shadows.  After you have listened, you could ask:

What is the black rabbit?

Why does the black rabbit follow Rabbit?

Why can’t we see the black rabbit in the woods?

Why does the black rabbit scare the wolf?

How does the black rabbit become bigger and smaller?

Why is the black rabbit sometimes in front and sometimes behind Rabbit?

Step 2



Cut a square of clingfilm big enought to cover one end of the toilet roll tube.

Pull the clingfilm tightly across the top of the tube and secure it by wrapping it around the sides of the tube.

If you are using a plastic bag or wrapping, you’ll need to secure it using an elastic band or sticky tape.

Step 3



Step 3

Cut out some small shapes from your paper, foil or other material.

Then stick the shapes onto the clingfilm using a little bit of glue, sticky tack or sticky tape.

If you don’t have any glue, you can put the shapes onto the clingfilm and then add another layer of clingfilm over the top to hold them in place.

Step 4



Point your tube at a wall or door and shine a torch through the open end of your tube. You should see shadows made by the shapes on the end of the tube.

You could make a second shadow tube with different shapes.



Things to discuss

How did you make the shadows?

The light coming from your torch travels in straight lines until it reaches your wall. In your shadow tube, the light was blocked by the shapes you stuck on the end. Light could still pass around the edges of the shape through the clingfilm. This light travelled towards your wall and formed a shadow. Watch this BBC video to find out more.

You could investigate:

  • What happens if you move your torch and shadow tube closer to the wall?
  • What happens if you move your torch and shadow tube further away from the wall?
  • What happens if you move your torch further away from your shadow tube?



Other things to try

Coloured light


Instead of using clingfilm you could use coloured cellophane (like you find on some chocolates) on your shadow tubes.



Hand shadows


Have a go at making animal shadows using your hands!

This video is really easy to follow, all you need is a light source such as a torch, lamp or even the sun, your two hands and a wall to create your shadow on.



Shadow puppet theatres


Shadow puppets are a great way to tell stories. Watch this video about The Hungry Monster and then try making your own.

The easiest way to tell stories using shadow puppets it to project them onto your wall, like you did with the shadow tubes.

You could also make a shadow puppet theatre; this video from Cbeebies shows you how to make a simple shadow puppet theatre.

Don’t worry if you don’t have all the equipment, you could use cereal or other empty boxes. Just cut out the shape that you need and stick it onto a long stick such as straw, pen, pencil, kebab skewer or even a spoon.

More STEM at Home


What you’ll need

  • A blank wall, door or cupboard to create your shadow on
  • Toilet or kitchen roll tube, or rolled up dark coloured paper or card
  • A torch – there will probably be one on your phone
  • Cling film, a clear plastic bag or clear plastic food wrapping
  • Paper, foil or foam shapes, pipe cleaners, buttons, stickers or anything else you can stick to the clingfilm to block the light
  • Glue, sticky tack or sticky tape

Duration

15 minutes or so.

Suitable for…

Age 3 and up.

Safety notes

You know your children better than anyone, and you should judge whether they’re ready for this activity. You might want to think in particular about:

  • Supervision: the activity involves small parts, so there’s a choke hazard.
  • Glue can damage carpets.

Dancing shadows

You might enjoy this music video called Shadows by Lindsay Stirling.

Watch what happens to her shadow during the song. How do you think she does this?


Floating Flowers

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Floating Flowers

With some paper and scissors, make flowers that bloom when you place them in water.

Overview


In this activity, you’ll create floating paper flowers. The folded petals of your flowers will open up and your flower will bloom when placed in water.

All you need is some paper, colour pens/pencils, and a container filled with water.


Printable version

This page will print, but looks a little funky. Click the button for a PDF version which looks a bit better. This is a stop-gap while we work on a better solution!

What you’ll need

To make our blooming flower, we first needed to gather a few supplies:

    • Paper
    • Plastic container
    • Water
    • Scissors
    • Colouring pens/pencils (optional)

Duration

20-30 minutes

Suitable for…

Age 3 and up.

Safety notes

You know your children better than anyone, and you should judge whether they’re ready for this activity. You might want to think in particular about:

  • Supervision: the activity involves scissors


What to do


Step 1



On a piece of paper draw a flower shape.

Your flower can be any size and will need to have petals that you can fold later. There are lots of printable flower shapes available online that you could use for ideas.

Now carefully cut out the flowers you have drawn using scissors.

Step 2



Next you need to decorate your paper flowers. You can use felt tips or coloured pencils to decorate them.

Real flowers are often brightly coloured to attract insects. You could have a look at some pictures of flowers to help you choose your own. The Woodland Trust has a page all about British wildflowers if you need inspiration.

Step 3



Fold each petal into the centre of the flower. Be gentle, if you crease the fold too tightly the petals will struggle to open.

Step 4



Fill your container with some water.

Carefully place your folded flowers onto the surface of the water, with the folded petals facing upwards.

Watch and see what happens. The petals on each flower should start unfold.

You could also time each flower to see which one opens the fastest.

Does it depend on the size or the shape of the flower or the number of petals it has?

You could record your results in a table like the one below.



Things to discuss

  • Does the way you fold the petals make a difference to how it opens?
  • Does the flower open in other liquids?
  • Does the same thing happen if the flower is made from other types of paper or card?
  • Do other paper shapes do the same thing?



How does this work?

Paper is made up of lots of fibres. There are lots of tiny spaces between the fibres. You can see these by using a powerful microscope like in these pictures: Paper 100x magnified. 

When you float the flower on the water, the water starts to fill the tiny spaces at the folded edges. As they fill, the paper fibres absorb the water and start to swell.  This pushes open the folds on your paper flower.

This movement of water into the spaces in the paper is an example of capillary action. Real plants need capillary action to survive because it lets the water they need move up into their stalks or trunks.




Other things to try

This video shows how you can use capiliary action to change the colour of flowers.


More STEM at Home


What you’ll need

To make our blooming flower, we first needed to gather a few supplies:

    • Paper
    • Water
    • Plastic container
    • Scissors
    • Colouring pens/pencils (optional)

Duration

20-30 minutes

Suitable for…

Age 3 and up.

Safety notes

You know your children better than anyone, and you should judge whether they’re ready for this activity. You might want to think in particular about:

  • Supervision: the activity involves scissors

Make Fish Tumblers

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Fish Tumblers

Using scissors and scrap paper, you’ll build paper fish which gently tumble towards the ground.

Overview


We’ll use scrap paper, and scissors (you can tear the paper if you don’t have scissors) to make simple tumbling fish that fall gently to the ground when you drop them. Make big ones, small ones, fat ones, thin ones and see which tumble to the ground slowest.


Printable version

This page will print, but looks a little funky. Click the button for a PDF version which looks a bit better. This is a stop-gap while we work on a better solution!

What you’ll need

  • Scrap paper – junk mail leaflets work well
  • Scissors (if you don’t have them, you can tear it)

Duration

15 minutes or so.

Suitable for…

Age 5 and up.

Safety notes

You know your children better than anyone, and you should judge whether they’re ready for this activity. You might want to think in particular about:

  • Supervision: you might want to be in charge of the scissors.
  • Be careful if you are standing on a chair to drop your tumbler.

What to do


Step 1: build the tumbler

Get some scrap paper and scissors.

Cut a long thin rectangle. Draw two lines on the strip (shown in the picture). Snip the two lines, and then curl the paper around and connect the two snipped lines together.

The short video below shows more detail on how to make the tumbler.

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Step 2: Drop your Tumbler

Hold your tumbler high in the air and drop it. It should spin as it falls towards the ground. If you want an extra bit of height, try standing on a chair to drop it.

Step 3: Try different sized rectangles

It doesn’t take long to make another tumbler. Try:

  • A long thin rectangle
  • A short, fat rectangle
  • Different types of paper
  • Fish with short tails
  • Fish with long tails

To see which falls slowest, drop two at the same time to compare them.

Things to discuss


Use these questions to talk about what’s happening

  • How does the tumbler fall to the ground?
  • What movement does the tumbler make?
  • How could you  make a better tumbler?

Other things to try


These tumblers are quick and easy to make.

If you want to start experimenting you could video one falling and then watch it back in slow motion to get a better look at what’s happening.

Use the stopwatch on your phone to see how long the drops take and write your results down on a piece of paper.

More STEM at Home


What you’ll need

  • Scrap paper – junk mail leaflets work well
  • Scissors (if you don’t have them, you can tear it)

Duration

15 minutes or so.

Suitable for…

Age 5 and up.

Safety notes

You know your children better than anyone, and you should judge whether they’re ready for this activity. You might want to think in particular about:

  • Supervision: you might want to be in charge of the scissors.
  • Be careful if you are standing on a chair to drop your tumbler.

Electricity

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Electricity Loans Box

Levers

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Loans Box: Levers

Light

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Loans Box: Light

Events

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