Australia's Science Forum

I have been asked to put together a long clear tube in which a marble can be inserted in one end and pushed along to demonstrate food moving through the intestine. i am having trouble finding clear tubing which is malable enough to push the marble but not so loose that it just drops through. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I could use or any other ideas to demonstrate this?

Kathryn

Have you looked at Silicone rubber tubing ? Home brew shops sell it . Some is harder that others . I also got some from Clarke Rubber a few years ago for another project it was supper squishy ...infact I used that to make a Peristaltic Pump ....exactly what you are trying to demonstrate . It was expensive though.

Perhaps you could try something other than a marble , like say some soft play dough ( coloured ) ....that would look more like food too

Another thought , a tennis ball in a stocking

We've been doing this prac with our students, They love it as it is really gross but very effective

https://www.stem.org.uk/resources/elibr ... experiment

Wato3 wrote:We've been doing this prac with our students, They love it as it is really gross but very effective

https://www.stem.org.uk/resources/elibr ... experiment

We do one very similar to this one, as you said Wato3, the kids love it because it's gross!!!

I played around with this prac to try & get the grossest most realistic poop I could to entertain the kids, & this recipe gets great reactions, especially when you squeeze the poop out into the bucket (toilet) & get lovely satisfying splashes!

Thank you for your gross recommendations.The particular teacher has seen that and decided it is too gross for her! I will have a look at home brew or Clarks rubber - thanks.
Kathryn