Australia's Science Forum

We are having two busloads of primary students visit our school very soon. The HT has asked if we know of any new, fun, interesting and QUICK experiments we could show. Each group of 10 students will only have 20minutes in Science so we want something to impress them! Can anyone help with ideas, please?

I hava a booklet of pracs I have collated over the years from various discussion lists etc. It is too big for me to attach so if you would like to pm me your email address I will try and send it to you. CYA
Debbie

elephants toothpaste
dry ice with universal indicator

They are always good ones to impress

Thank you for the suggestion of Elephant's toothpaste. We did that last year, and it was fantastic fun - the kids loved it.

Thank you Debbie, too; I have pm'd you as well.

Great site, fantastic supporters.

Thanks.

Without fail the Van der Graaf generator amuses the Primary students the most... Hair raising, static electricity biting awe. We start with perspex and ebonite rods, bending water, attracting small scraps of paper etc. THEN the request for a volunteer... I always laugh at the different reactions from the primary kids.

Effervescent rainbow is cool. http://www.rsc.org/images/An_effervesce ... 194228.pdf
Not sure if the URL will work as it doesnt always. It is basically a burette, HCl and NaOH and universal indicator but you have to put them in in the right order. Google Effervescent rainbow, it is on the RSC site.

Love the Rainbow sounds like fun

Milk kaleidoscope is my favourite. Full cream milk in a petri dish with a couple of drops of different food-colours in the "corners" and then a drop of detergent (morning fresh) in the middle. How many drops of water fit on top of a coin? And the pH column. 20 fun filled minutes!

To go with the milk kaleidoscope you can turn it into bread clip boats. Use the plastic clip off a loaf of bread, float it on the milk. Put a drop of food colouring into the hole and then a drop of detergent. The "boat" then whizzes around the plate. Do use full cream though, lite and skim aren't as good. And you probably need a bigger dish than a petri one!

Thank you all for your ideas. We are going to try out all of them (in our spare time) and hopefully make up a booklet of ideas over the next few months.

Thanks again.

If you send me a PM with your email I can send you my file of heaps of fun pracs.. and I mean heaps!