Category: Kids

Have you ever played with a kaleidoscope? It is a tube that you hold up to your eye. You point the tube toward light and then slowly turn it. As you turn the tube you can see patterns of colors at the other end of the tube. It works by reflecting light.

Light travels in a straight line. When light bumps into something it changes direction. If light bumps into something shiny it reflects back in the direction it came from. Think of light like a bouncing ball inside a kaleidoscope bouncing off all the shiny surfaces.

If you make your own kaleidoscope you can use mirrors or aluminum foil. When you point it toward light, the light enters the kaleidoscope and reflects back and forth between the shiny surfaces inside it. Since you have filled the end of the kaleidoscope with little shiny objects, the light bounces off those too and makes the interesting patterns of color. As you turn the kaleidoscope the little shiny objects move which makes the patterns of color move.

Websites, Activities & Printables

• Upcycle a Kaleidoscope from a Paper Towel Tube
• PBS: See Colors with a DIY Kaleidoscope
• Art Museum of Southeast Texas: Recycled Materials Kaleidoscope
• The New Children’s Museum: DIY Kaleidoscope

You can also ask a math and science expert for homework help by calling the Ask Rose Homework Hotline. They provide FREE math and science homework help to Indiana students in grades 6-12.

e-Books and Audiobooks

Use your indyPL Library Card to check out books about Science Experiments at any of our locations, or check out science experiment e-books and audiobooks from OverDrive Kids right to your device! If you have never used OverDrive before, you can learn how to use it for both e-books and audiobooks.

Need more help? Ask a Library staff member at any of our locations or call, text or email Ask-a-Librarian. Additionally, the Tinker Station helpline at (317) 275-4500 is also available. It is staffed by device experts who can answer questions about how to read, watch and listen on a PC, tablet or phone.

When the atoms in different kinds of molecules come together they can form a chemical bond. This happens when some of the electrons from each kind of atom have an attraction to each other so they stick together. In this experiment you will be able to see a chemical bond. Dye made from kool aid and vinegar will make a bond, or “stick” to the fabric of a cotton t-shirt – kool aid tie dye!

Some chemical bonds are strong and the two substances really stick to each other. Some chemical bonds are weak. The chemical bond between kool-aid/vinegar and the t-shirt is weak. The vinegar added to the kool-aid is called a mordant. A mordant is a substance that helps dye stick to fabric.

What You Need to Make Kool Aid Tie Dye

• T-shirt/Sock/Towel – Anything Made From Cotton
• Kool Aid Packets
• Several Bowls
• Spoon
• Water
• Vinegar
• Measuring Cups
• Rubber Bands

The kool-aid/vinegar dye will make a weak chemical bond so your shirt will fade over time. The chemical bond in a permanent dye is strong – shirts dyed with this kind of dye stay bright for a long time. After you practice with kool-aid, THEN try a more permanent dye.

NOTE: Even though the kool-aid/vinegar dye is weak…you should still do this OUTSIDE! The kool-aid/vinegar dye will stay on your fingers and especially your fingernails for a day or so unless you wash them really good. (So…it would also stay for awhile on your clothes or the carpet in your house!) My dog licked the bowl of blue kool-aid/vinegar dye and it turned her tongue blue. She also splashed some on her foot. The next day her tongue was not blue anymore put the fur on her paw was!

Science Experiment Idea: Try dying three identical shirts with kool aid using different amounts of vinegar. Which mixture made the darkest color? Which mixture lasted the longest? To investigate chemical reactions further – try some more experiments at home!

Websites, Activities & Printables

• Steve Spangler: The Science of Tie Dye
• Scientific American: Making Tie Dye T-shirts
• Khan Academy: Chemical Bonds
• Kool Aid: Learn How to Dye Easter Eggs, Yarn, and Hair!

You can also ask a math and science expert for homework help by calling the Ask Rose Homework Hotline. They provide FREE math and science homework help to Indiana students in grades 6-12.

e-Books and Audiobooks

Use your indyPL Library Card to check out books about Science Experiments at any of our locations, or check out science experiment e-books and audiobooks from OverDrive Kids right to your device! If you have never used OverDrive before, you can learn how to use it for both e-books and audiobooks.

Need more help? Ask a Library staff member at any of our locations or call, text or email Ask-a-Librarian. Additionally, the Tinker Station helpline at (317) 275-4500 is also available. It is staffed by device experts who can answer questions about how to read, watch and listen on a PC, tablet or phone.

Every object on earth has potential energy. That means it COULD move even if it isn’t right now. When an object IS moving it has kinetic energy. In today’s demonstration you are going to store energy in a spring. That spring will have the potential to move, but it won’t move until you let it move. The marshmallow catapult you make is going to transfer energy from the spring to a marshmallow. The marshmallow will have potential energy until the catapult releases, then the marshmallow will have kinetic energy as it flies through the air.

Watch NASA astronaut Joe Acaba demonstrate kinetic and potential energy on the International Space Station by showing how an object’s potential energy changes.

Websites, Activities & Printables

• C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital: Marshmallow Catapult
• Pinterest Board: Marshmallow Catapult Lots if ideas here!
• Printable: STEM in the Park Take Home Activity Marshmallow Catapult
• US Energy Information Administration: What is Energy?
• Physics4Kids: Energy Around Us
• ENWIN Utilities: Types of Energy

You can also ask a math and science expert for homework help by calling the Ask Rose Homework Hotline. They provide FREE math and science homework help to Indiana students in grades 6-12.

e-Books and Audiobooks

Use your indyPL Library Card to check out books about Science Experiments at any of our locations, or check out science experiment e-books and audiobooks from OverDrive Kids right to your device! If you have never used OverDrive before, you can learn how to use it for both e-books and audiobooks.

Need more help? Ask a Library staff member at any of our locations or call, text or email Ask-a-Librarian. Additionally, the Tinker Station helpline at (317) 275-4500 is also available. It is staffed by device experts who can answer questions about how to read, watch and listen on a PC, tablet or phone.

Sharpie pens are permanent markers. That means that the ink will not come off with water. If something will dissolve in water it is called soluble. If something will NOT dissolve in water it is called hydrophobic. Permanent marker ink is hydrophobic. You can do a sharpie pen tie dye demonstration of solubility.

What You Need

• White T-Shirt
• Permanent Markers (Sharpies)
• Plastic Cup
• Rubber Band
• Rubbing Alcohol
• Dropper

Instructions

To begin your sharpie pen tie dye demonstration, stretch part of the white t-shirt over the top of the plastic cup and secure it with the rubber band – it will look like a little drum. Choose one of the colors of Sharpie pen and make dots in the center of the t-shirt circle. Choose another color and make more dots. Repeat. The circle of color should be about the size of a quarter.

Now slowly squeeze about 20 drops of rubbing alcohol into the center of the circle of dots. Drip the rubbing alcohol really slowly. What do you see happening to the ink? Let the ink dry for about 5 minutes and then you can move the cup to a different part of the shirt. When you are done making colorful circles put the shirt in the dryer for about 15 mintues to set the colors.

The permanent ink of Sharpie pens is hydrophobic. It will not dissolve in water. The permanent ink WILL dissolve in rubbing alcohol though. That is why the colors “run” to make the pretty pattern.

Science Project Idea:

Try this method of tie dying with different kinds of markers and pens. Test whether the ink in the pens is soluable or hydrophobic. HINT: the word “washable” would be a clue to help you guess the answer to that question. Then try using the rubbing alcohol. Can you find an ink that will not dissolve in water OR rubbing alcohol?

Websites, Activities & Printables

• Steve Spangler: Sharpie Pen Science
• Instructables: Tie Dye Made With Sharpies

You can also ask a math and science expert for homework help by calling the Ask Rose Homework Hotline. They provide FREE math and science homework help to Indiana students in grades 6-12.

e-Books and Audiobooks

Use your indyPL Library Card to check out books about Science Experiments at any of our locations, or check out science experiment e-books and audiobooks from OverDrive Kids right to your device! If you have never used OverDrive before, you can learn how to use it for both e-books and audiobooks.

Need more help? Ask a Library staff member at any of our locations or call, text or email Ask-a-Librarian. Additionally, the Tinker Station helpline at (317) 275-4500 is also available. It is staffed by device experts who can answer questions about how to read, watch and listen on a PC, tablet or phone.

Physicists study matter – all of the “stuff” in the universe and how that “stuff” moves. One of the most famous physicists of all time was Sir Isaac Newton. Sir Isaac is most famous for explaining gravity, a concept we are so familiar with now it seems obvious to us. He is also famous for explaining how stuff moves in his Three Laws of Motion. Today we are going to look at Newton’s First Law of Motion called Inertia. This law states that a still object will stay still unless a force pushes or pulls it. A moving object will stay moving unless a force pushes or pulls it.

Gravity and friction are forces that constantly push and pull the “stuff” on earth. So, when we roll a ball, it slowly comes to a stop. On the moon, where there is less gravity and friction, “stuff” floats, and keeps floating. Try one of the experiments below to see Newton’s first law of motion in action.

Experiments:

• Experiment: Steve Spangler Egg Drop
• Experiment: Steve Spangler Tablecloth Trick
• Experiment: Steve Spangler The Coin Drop
• Experiment: Bill Nye Pages of Inertia
• Experiment: Hunkin’s Experiments Inertia Cartoon

Websites, Activites & Printables:

• NASA: Newton’s First Law of Motion
• Why Don’t I Fall Out When a Roller Coaster Goes Upside Down?
• Video: Khan Academy Newton’s First Law of Motion
• IndyPL Blog: Newton’s Second Law of Motion
• IndyPL Blog: Newton’s Third Law of Motion

You can ask a math and science expert for homework help by calling the Ask Rose Homework Hotline. They provide FREE math and science homework help to Indiana students in grades 6-12.

e-Books and Audiobooks

Use your indyPL Library Card to check out books about Sir Isaac Newton at any of our locations, or check out Sir Isaac Newton e-books and audiobooks from OverDrive Kids right to your device! If you have never used OverDrive before, you can learn how to use it for both e-books and audiobooks.

Need more help? Ask a Library staff member at any of our locations or call, text or email Ask-a-Librarian. Additionally, the Tinker Station helpline at (317) 275-4500 is also available. It is staffed by device experts who can answer questions about how to read, watch and listen on a PC, tablet or phone.

Looking for ideas for a science experiments? Here are several ideas that use materials easily found in your house. A couple of them might require a trip to the grocery store or pharmacy, but mostly you can just raid the garage, kitchen or medicine chest for the ingredients. Many experiments you will want to do OUTSIDE. Each one will give you directions as well as suggest websites and books to help you understand what science is at work during the experiment.

Science Experiment Ideas:

ATOMS & MOLECULES
Density: Buoyancy
Miscible Molecules: Lava Bottle
Polymers: Poke Holes in a Ziploc or Cornstarch & Borax Goo
Saturation: Baking Soda Crystals
Soluability: Sharpie Pen Tie Dye
Supersaturated: Borax Crystals
Surface Tension: Bubbles or Sand Castles

CHEMICAL REACTIONS
Acids: Bouncing Egg
Chemical Bond: Kool Aid Tie Dye
Chemical Reaction: Exploding Ziploc
Mixtures: Black Ink Chromatography

HEAT
Melting Point: DIY Slushie
Heated Gases Expand: Ivory Soap

PHYSICS
Aerodynamics: Paper Airplanes
Centripetal Force: Hex in a Balloon
Newton’s First Law of Motion, Newton’s Second Law of Motion, and Newton’s Third Law of Motion
Potential & Kinetic Energy: Marshmallow Catapult

BIOLOGY (LIFE)
Hydrologic (Water) Cycle: Make a Terrarium

Websites:

Here are some websites that have great step-by-step directions and photographs for planning great science experiments.

• The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis Pinterest Board: Saturday Science
• Bill Nye the Science Guy Home Demos
• Science Bob
• Steve Spangler Science
• Exploratorium Science Explorer

You can also ask a math and science expert for homework help by calling the Ask Rose Homework Hotline. They provide FREE math and science homework help to Indiana students in grades 6-12.  

Need more help? Ask a Library staff member at any of our locations or call, text or email Ask-a-Librarian. The Tinker Station helpline at (317) 275-4500 is also available. It is staffed by device experts who can answer questions about how to read, watch and listen on a PC, tablet or phone.