Mad about Science: Family stem projects

By Brenden Bobby
Reader Staff

We are taking a slightly different approach to this week’s column. Instead of learning about a single subject, we’re going to look at a number of projects geared toward family science learning. These experiments are great for kids and adults alike. I’ll do my best to avoid spoiling the outcome of many of these experiments so you can discover them on your own.

While I can’t fit specific instructions for each activity, a quick Google search can easily pull up instructions and recipes for everything listed here.

Oobleck

Oobleck is one of the easiest science experiments you can perform at home. Explore the effects of a non-Newtonian fluid by mixing one part corn starch with one part water. Mixing food dye can create a colorful blob of goo that flows like water but puts up serious resistance when energy is applied.

The reason this stuff behaves the way it does is that while it is resting, water exists between the molecules of corn starch, which allows it to behave like a liquid. Applying pressure forces out the water and causes the corn starch to stick together and resist the applied forces.

This acts in a unique way when you do certain things to it. Try pouring it from a bowl. Try hitting it with a spoon. See if you can get sound waves to interact with it somehow.

Archimedes’ screw

This is one of the most challenging STEM activities I have ever instructed in a classroom. The principle is simple: place a helical screw inside a hollow cylinder and turn it to transport liquids or solids from a lower space to a higher one.

The actual practice of this activity is extremely challenging. Well-made helical screws are difficult to build from scratch using mediums like paper or cardboard. The challenge comes from fitting the screw into the cylinder without grinding against its sides. Additionally, paper and cardboard absorb water, which makes transporting liquids impractical.

You can circumvent the difficulty of transporting liquids by using rice or marbles instead.

Try this one out and let me know if it was easy for you or not.

Strawkets

This is one of my favorite projects suitable for any age level. Wrapping a straw in paper and taping it into a cylindrical shape can create a small projectile. There are multiple ways to launch a strawket and even more ways to improve its accuracy. You can launch the strawket from the straw by blowing on it, or you can cut V-shaped notches in the back and propel it across the room with a rubber band.

Adding fins and wings can improve accuracy and stability. A serious challenge is trying to hit a target multiple times with a strawket that hasn’t been meticulously engineered like an arrow or a bullet.

One enterprising student as a part of Sunnyside School’s Engineering Club managed to launch one of these more than 60 feet. Another student at Southside Elementary managed to hit the center of their gymnasium backstop from 35 feet away more than once.

Strawkets are a great foundation for learning about rocketry and building projectiles like arrows.

Safe landing egg cage

Using basic household supplies, what can you create to slow an egg’s fall while dampening the energy of its impact? Can you design a multi-stage lander that utilizes both a parachute and mechanics to cushion the landing?

A great alternative to using a messy egg is to snap a few LEGO bricks together in an open square pattern. The bricks are likely to pop apart under similar stresses but are easily reassembled, unlike Humpty Dumpty. 

A great twist on this project is to enforce a budget. Allow a maximum number of items, or only certain item types to amp up the challenge of creating an effective lander, emulating the difficulty of building an advanced lander with resources found only on another planet.

Gummy bear bridge

A delightfully macabre twist on the classic toothpick-and-marshmallow bridge. Gummy bears have a vastly different consistency than marshmallows and are much more likely to deform under pressure. One of the greatest challenges in constructing this bridge is uniformity and consistency. The malleable nature of the gummy bears means your trellis structures are likely to deform, transforming the bridge into a chaotic-looking mass of triangles and gelatin. The real challenge comes when you try to span a gap of six inches or greater.

Students at Sagle Elementary managed to span an 18-inch gap while still supporting some weight on the bridge.

Another fun approach to this challenge is to create freestanding gummy bear-and-toothpick towers. The effects of gravity on gummy bears become apparent only a few inches up, as each floor adds more weight to the floors beneath it.

Stay curious, 7B.