Egg Drop Project

The egg drop is a classic science project that kids will love. Can you design a system that will protect an egg from a fall? Give it a
try and find out.
Use items from around the house to build something that will prevent eggs smashing all over the ground.

Can you protect a falling egg?

What you'll need:

Eggs

Paper towels

Build your egg protectors from resources such as:

Plastic straws

Popsicle sticks

Tape

Recycled paper

Glue

Plastic bags

Boxes

Used material

Plastic containers

The aim:

Your goal is simple, design and build a system that will protect an egg from a 1 metre (3.3 feet) drop. Eggs that smash or
crack fail the test while eggs that survive without a scratch pass!

Getting started:
You need to create something that can absorb the energy the egg gathers as it accelerates towards the ground. A hard surface will
crack the egg so you have to think carefully about how you can protect it. Something that will cushion the egg at the end of its fall is
a good place to start, you want the egg to decelerate slowly so it doesn't crack or smash all over the ground. You'll need to run a
few trials so have some eggs ready as guinea pigs, those that dont survive will at least be comforted knowing they were smashed
for a good cause, and if not, you can at least have scrambled eggs for dinner right?

Human Table Trick

All these people are laying down, by why aren't they falling? They comprise a human
table!

Table tricks are a great addition to any meal. Do you want to whip the tablecloth out
from under they place settings? Great! Oh, you're trying to move a toothpick just by
using a singing wine glass? That's awesome, too! But what if you want to turn all of
your guests INTO a table? Well, lucky for you, we have the perfect trick the Human
Table Trick!
Materials

Four friends

Four chairs
Experiment
1. Set up four chairs in a square. The chairs need to be close enough that a
person can lay backwards and have their shoulders rest on another chair.
2. Have four friends sit in the chairs. The friends need to have their feet on the
ground.
3. Each friend needs to lay backwards, resting their shoulders on the legs of the
person behind them.
4. One by one, remove the chairs from under your friends.
5. Much to their amazement, your friends remain in their reclined position,
despite lacking the support of the chairs.

6. Before your friends collapse, replace the chairs and let them sit-up. Ta-da!
How Does It Work?
That's incredible! Your friends create a table that is practically sturdy enough to eat
off of but how does it work?
When you remove the chairs from under your friends, the expectation is for your
friends to crumble to the floor in a giggling mass. Instead, they remain stable (even if
they're still giggling). The secret to this table-esque trick is a system of balanced
forces. Even though gravity is pulling your friends down, each friend is supported by
the legs of the person behind them. With each person being supported, the only
question is when your friends' legs give out.
Take It Further!
How many friends can you get to form a table? All you need to do is get more chairs,
then you can have a table made up of as many friends as you want!

Popsicle Stick Chain Reaction

Weave popsicle sticks together to build potential energy before releasing them in a
flurry of kinetic energy.

Popsicle sticks are great for holding frozen treats and reading the occasional joke off
of, but did you know they're excellent for demonstrating potential and kinetic
energy? It's true! If you weave popsicle sticks together just right, you can create a
chain reaction that will create a dazzling display of flying popsicle sticks!
Materials

70 pcs popsicle sticks

Tons of patience

 A friend (optional, but can make the process much easier)

Experiment
1. Start off with two popsicle sticks. Lay them in an X on a flat surface.
2. Weave the end of a third popsicle stick underneath the end of the popsicle stick
on the bottom of the X. The rest of the third stick should go over top of the
popsicle stick on the top of the X. Make sure to keep pressure on the third
stick.
3. Repeat step 2 with a fourth popsicle stick. This time, start underneath the
second popsicle stick and weave over the third.
4. Continue adding popsicle sticks in this fashion until you have a really long
chain!
5. Once you've extended the chain to your heart's content let go! The popsicles
will release in a chain reaction that will have everyone in the area jumping for
joy.
How Does It Work?
The key to the Popsicle Chain Reaction comes from potential and kinetic energy. As
you weave the popsicle sticks together, you are continually building potential energy.
Each popsicle stick is bent over the stick before it and pinned under the stick before
that, creating tension in the wood. When you finally have the chain length that you
want, you let go and all of the tension and potential energy is released in a chain
reaction of kinetic energy!

Newtons Bottle Dollar Bill Inertia Trick

You'll experience Sir Isaac Newton's First Law of Motion with a trick that shows
inertia and friction.

Table tricks come in all shapes and sizes. Some tricks use toothpicks and water,
while others involve whipping a tablecloth off of a plate-filled table. This trick, called
Newton's Bottle, is a fantastic demonstration of inertia, the acting force behind
Newton's First Law of Motion. You might want to know the secret behind the trick,
now, but we think you should probably perform the trick yourself. It's sure to make
everyone at the dinner table gasp with delight.
Materials

Glass soda bottles

Dollar bill

Quarters
Experiment
1. Place a dollar bill on the mouth of a glass soda bottle. Mr. Washington's face
should be right over the hole.
2. Stack the quarters (six should be enough) directly over the mouth of the bottle,
on top of the dollar bill.
3. Stick out your index finger, and swipe down at the dollar bill. Be careful not to
hit the quarters or the bottle.
4. If you do it right, your finger should pull the dollar bill out from under the
quarters, leaving them stack atop the bottle.
5. Take it further! Instead of quarters, stack a second glass soda bottle (upside
down) on top of the dollar bill on the first glass soda bottle.
6. With the bottles balanced, grip one end of the dollar bill so that it is moderately
taut. Use the index finger on your other hand to repeat the swiping motion.
TADA!
How Does It Work?
The key to the Newton's Bottle trick is inertia. Inertia is described in Sir Isaac
Newton's (see where we get the name?) First Law of Motion. Inertia is the tendency
for an object at rest to remain at rest until an outside force acts upon it. Inertia is
important in the Newton's Bottle trick because, according to the law, the quarters
and bottle (the objects) will not move unless an outside force moves them.
Aside from inertia, friction also plays a factor. Thankfully, the surface of the dollar
bill is smooth, and doesn't create a lot of friction against the quarters or bottle.
Without a lot of friction, the dollar bill doesn't pull the quarters and bottle off of their
balanced perch.

Volcano

Things You'll Need:

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup vinegar

1/4 cup dish detergent

tsbp Red food coloring

2 tablespoons baking soda

1 disposable cup

Plastic tape

Newspaper

glue

Instructions
1. Build your volcano. In the center, use a container to hold liquid. Depending on how big you are
making your volcano, this can be an old water bottle, soda bottle with the top cut off, or even a
simple glass jar or disposable cup
Step 1: Ingredients
Add ingredients to your container or disposable cup. This includes 1/2 cup water, 1/4 vinegar, 1/4
dish detergent and baking soda.
Step 2: Tape the disposable cup onto the piece of cardboard or newspaper.

Step 3: Crumple a few pieces of paper.

Step 4: Arrange the pieces of

paper around the pill bottle,
then tape.
And Add more paper as
needed until it looks like a volcano.
Step 7: Rip up a lot of newspaper. This
will be used with the glue.

Step 8: Make the outside of the volcano.

Put glue on one paper strip at a time. Then, put the strips on the volcano until it is completely
covered. Then paint.

Step 12: Put 1/2 tbsp. food coloring in

a half of 1/4 vinegar.
Step 13: Pour the vinegar in the volcano, and watch it explode!

Egg Parachute

Your missionif you choose to accept itis to construct a parachute that will
deliver an egg safely to the ground when dropped. No fancy materials allowed! You
can only use familiar household items like plastic bags and string. Do you think you
have what it takes to construct this gravity-defying wonder? Be careful: a sloppy
parachute will result in a yolky mess!
Problem:
Can a parachute made out of plastic bags and string save an egg from a twostory fall?
Materials:

Plastic heavy-duty trash bag

Styro cup
String
Scissors
Hole punch of paper clips
Eggs

News paper
Procedure:
1. Cut a square from the garbage bag that is 20 inches on each side.
2. Use a paper clip to punch one hole in each corner of the piece of plastic
garbage bag.
3. Cut four pieces of 20-inch long string.
4 . Thread a piece of string through each hole in the bag and secure by tying
the string firmly on each corner.
5. Wrap (it can be newspaper) and place one egg into the styro cup, loose ends
of strings. This will also attach the parachute to the bag holding the egg.
7. Think about what you know about wind resistance. Make a note about you
think will happen.

8. Take the egg parachute to the second floor of your house or school and have
a friend help you drop it from the window.
Results:
The largest parachute falls the slowest and should cause the least amount of damage
to the egg.
Why?
When you drop the egg, the strings that are attached to the sandwich bag pull down
and this open the bag to full size, which creates a large surface area and more wind
resistance. More wind resistance slows down the descent of the egg.
You can explain the results of this experiment with the concept of resistance. Wind
resistance, also called drag, is simply a force that acts on a solid object. Car designers often
factor in wind resistance when designing a car to help it have greater fuel efficiency and
accelerate to high speeds more easily.
In this experiment, your goal was to create more wind resistance to slow the speed of
the object. The largest parachute created more resistance and slowed the descent of the egg
the most.
The experiment shows that the size of the parachute makes a difference in the speed
of descent, but what if you tried different materials for the parachute? Repeat the
experiment with a parachute made from construction paper, plastic grocery bags or other
items you have around your house. Do you think the results will vary? Come up with a new
hypothesis each time you try new materials and see if your guesses are correct. Youll learn
so much about wind resistance that even Humpty Dumpty may thank you.

How to Have a Balloon Pop Relay Race

Things You'll Need

6 or more kids and/or adults to play

Masking tape or jump rope
Balloons
2 chairs
2 bags
Prizes

Instructions
1.

Blow up enough balloons for each of your guests to use in the game. Blow up extra in
case some pop before you can use them.

2.

Mark off a line onto the grass or floor using masking tape or an item such as a jumping
rope. About twenty feet away or so, place two chairs about five feet apart side by side. Place
a garbage bag full of balloons beside each chair.

3.

Separate your party guests into two equal teams. Have each team line up behind the line
you've marked off. The first to go in each team should stand on the line beside each other.

4.

Shout, "Go!" as the first player in each line rushes toward the chair designated for their
team, grabs a balloon out of the bag and puts it on the chair. Each player should sit on the
balloon, jumping on it if they have to, to pop it as quickly as they can.

5.

Instruct the players to run back to their team after successfully popping their balloon and
tag the next person in line as fast as possible. The next player then goes to the chair and
pops their balloon and so forth.

6.

Win the game by being the first team to pop all your balloons and reach the finish line.

7.

Give a prize to each member of the winning team. You can also give out a small
consolation prize to everyone else.

Balloon Pop Relay

What is needed:

One balloon per person

Two or more groups of friends

How to play:
The first player in each line runs to the finsih line and sits on their balloon until it pops. After it
pops they return to the starting line and the second person can go. The whole line does this and
the first team done wins.