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Title: Drinking Straw Rollercoaster

This activity can be interdisciplinary by involving math and art. Sections of straw need to be measured because they are doubled up to create a section of track. Angles can also be measured so that the desired angle of drop can be created. Art can be a part of this activity because the students can first design their coaster and the colors, etc. before the actual build.

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Build a roller coaster for a ping pong ball out of straws, hot glue, and a cardboard box for a base. This STEM challenge for kids is awesome because the materials are so simple and inexpensive! The track is surprisingly sturdy, and kids will have a blast creating a path for their ball. I would recommend this project for ages 8+, but younger kids will enjoy building it with help. Our 2 and 4 year olds love playing with the track!

The track has sets of two straws that hold the ball as it rolls. Kids will need to experiment with each section before gluing it to make sure that it works.

Want to see it in action?

To build this straw roller coaster you will need:

A cardboard box or a piece of cardboard for the base

Straws - solid color ones are fun!

Scissors

A hot glue gun and glue sticks

A ping pong ball

A bowl to catch the ball at the bottom (optional)

Aidan and Gresham worked together to build the track. I got them started with the first section, and then they got the idea and built the rest from there! When we started, I honestly wasn't sure if this would even work, but it did and it's so cool!

Tip: Hold the straws in place for several seconds until the glue dries. It seemed to take longer for the hot glue to cool on the straws than it normally does, and we weren't sure why.

We chose to start building at the top and work down to the bottom. This worked well.

This is a great project for partners. It's helpful to have someone to help hold the straws in place.

Aidan cut small pieces of straw to help support the vertical straws that hold up the track.

This project can be as simple or complex as you want it to be! This was the boys' original track (with Jonathan testing it out!). After they played with it awhile, Aidan decided that he could add more ramps and turns.

Here is his final track design:

So cool! Here it is from another angle:
Have fun building! Need more STEM projects for kids? You might enjoy these:

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Engineering Project for Kids: Build a Straw Roller Coaster! - Frugal Fun For Boys and Girls

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Build a roller coaster for a ping pong ball out of straws, hot glue, and a cardboard box for a base. This STEM challenge for kids is awesome because the materials are so simple and inexpensive! The track is surprisingly sturdy, and kids will have a blast creating a path for their ball.

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Click above to visit website.

Title: Design a Solar City

This STEAM activity involves many disciplines such as art (designing the layout), engineering (how do we hook up the solar panels, and to what piece in the city), Math (proportions), and of course the science of solar powered energy.

This could be part of engineering and design as well, but I included it under the creativity heading because students can be creative as they wish as they design their own city.

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Quick Look

Grade Level: 4 (3-5)

Time Required: 2 hours 30 minutes

(can be split into different days)

Expendable Cost/Group: US $7.00

Group Size: 4

Activity Dependency: None

Subject Areas: Earth and Space, Physical Science, Physics, Science and Technology

NGSS Performance Expectations:

Students design and build a model city powered by the sun! They learn about the benefits of solar power, and how architectural and building engineers integrate photovoltaic panels into the design of buildings.
This engineering curriculum aligns to Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

Learning Objectives

After this activity, students should be able to:

Explain what a photovoltaic panel does and how it works.

Describe the process of designing a house.

Describe how photovoltaic panels can be used on buildings to create clean energy.

Educational Standards
Suggest an alignment not listed above

Materials List

For the teacher demo during the Introduction/Motivation section:

mini solar PV panel

piece of foam core board, on which to tape the solar panel

2 small alligator clamps

a single light, such as a small Christmas tree light or any individual bulb from a hobby/craft/electronics store that can be hooked up in the circuit

(optional) a voltmeter

Each group needs:

graph paper and pencils

measuring ruler

¼-inch-thick foam core board, pre-cut into sets of wall and roof pieces that form variously-sized structures (different for each team), such as long skinny rectangular buildings, short squat rectangular buildings, tall skinny skyscraper buildings, big spacious warehouse buildings, little house-sized buildings, etc.; alternatively, for more advanced students, have them design and draw first, then cut out their own wall and roof pieces

cardboard, for plots of land; suggested size: ~24 x 24 in (~61 x 61 cm), however, size will vary depending on the size and shape of the building; cut from discarded cardboard boxes

acrylic paint and paint brushes, for painting foam core buildings and cardboard plot of land

mini solar PV panel; available online

duct tape

scissors

2 small alligator clamps

light, small motor or buzzer, available at amazon, and at hobby or electronics stores such as Radio Shack; NOTE: be sure to purchase lights/motors/buzzers that are compatible with your solar panel; if your solar panels can output 3V, then the lights/motors/buzzers should be in the 1.5-3V range; if the solar panel outputs too much power, just cover some of the panel to decrease the power output, otherwise you may burn up the lights/motors/buzzers; however, if the solar panel cannot output the current required to power the lights/motors/buzzers then they will not work

Solar City Persuasive Letter Worksheet, one per student

For the entire class to share:

newspaper, to protect table and desk tops from gluing and cutting

XactoTM knife (and blades) or utility knife or razor blade, for the teacher to use to cut foam core board

(optional) Foam Core Tips Handout

hot glue gun and glue sticks (model construction can take a lot of hot glue!)

Note: In this open-ended activity, as students begin to build, they may think of other materials they need, such as craft sticks, thin plastic sheets (or plastic beverage bottles), pebbles, Astroturf, etc.

Worksheets and Attachments
Visit [www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/cub_solarcity_activity1] to print or download.

Pre-Req Knowledge

Students should understand the steps of the engineering design process. They should also have a general understanding of what electricity is and how it is used. Students should be able to use a ruler to make measurements, and be able to connect a circuit in series.

Introduction/Motivation

(Have ready to show the students: a small solar panel, and the solar panel connected in series with a light and voltmeter [optional]. See Figure 1.)

How do we use energy at school? (Possible answers from students: Powering the lights, the overhead projector, and all the computers.) Does anyone know from where we get our electricity? Most of the electricity in the US is created by burning coal! What is the problem with burning coal? (Possible answers: This process produces a lot of greenhouse gas emissions that lead to poor air quality and global climate change. Coal is a nonrenewable resource that must be mined from the earth; mining can be harmful to the environment.) These are all good answers! As engineers, we must find better ways to create the energy we rely upon everyday to power our houses, schools, libraries, supermarkets, sports arenas, stores, businesses, and all of the other buildings in our city! Luckily, we have the sun to help us with that!

(Show students a small solar panel.) This device is called a solar panel. It is sort of like a battery, but instead of storing chemical energy, it converts the energy we get from the sun (known as radiant energy) into electricity (or electrical energy). When a house or building uses a row of two or more solar panels, we call this a solar array. Has anyone seen a building with solar panels on it? Where are the solar panels usually located? (On the roof.) Why do you think that is? (The roofs of buildings are exposed to the greatest amounts of sunlight and are better than the ground for being clear of any trees or other buildings that might cause shade.)

Here is a solar panel connected in series with a light (Show students the circuit.) We will know the solar panel is creating electricity when the light bulb is illuminated. Can you see any light? No! So the solar panel must not be working in the classroom. But there is light in this room, so why not is the panel not working? As it turns out, this light is not intense enough to create electricity. Let's go outside to see how it really works! (Take the class outside for a short demonstration.)

Now we see the light bulb turns on! This direct sunlight is perfect for creating electricity! Notice how the tilt of the solar panel and the direction the panel faces affects the brightness of the light bulb. Which direction is best? (Answers: In the direction of direct sunlight, which is east in the morning, west in the afternoon, south at midday, and towards the south in general.) So if you were an architectural or building engineer, where would you place the solar panels? (Answer: On a south-facing sloped roof or overhang of a building.) Great!

Do you think all schools, houses, libraries and supermarkets in every part of the world have electricity? As it turns out, many countries suffer from what is sometimes called "energy poverty." When no electricity is available or when an electricity shortage exists in a city or town, we say this area suffers from energy poverty. This happens because a country cannot afford or does not have enough resources to create all of the electricity it needs. Sometimes these areas are without power for hours or days! Some places exist without any electricity at all! Can you imagine what it would be like to wake up in the morning and not have any electricity? What would school be like without electricity? Do you think these areas could benefit from using photovoltaic panels?

Now that you know how a solar panel works, how they can be applied to buildings? Let's start designing Solar City!

Procedure

Background

A photovoltaic cell converts radiant energy from the sun directly into electricity. Photovoltaic (PV) cells use materials called semi-conductors. When solar radiation falls on these materials, one side of a plate becomes positively charged while the other becomes negatively charged, creating a potential difference. These oppositely-charged plates create a flow of electrons, or electricity.

Three types of solar panels are available: monocrystalline silicon, polycrystalline silicon (or multicrystalline silicon) and amorphous silicon (or thin film). Monocrystalline panels are the most efficient (15-18%), followed by polycrystalline panels (12-14%), then thin film (5-6%). Monocrystalline panels use individual cells to make up a module, while a polycrystalline panel is solid with flake-like pieces of silicon pressed together. Thin film comes in flat, thin, flexible sheets.

Although solar arrays are a way to free a building from fossil fuel energy, some building and home owners do not like the appearance of roof-mounted systems (see Figure 2). Building integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs) use thin film technology to incorporate the PV paneling into building materials such as roofs, façades, awnings or covered walkways (see Figure 2), so they are hardly noticed.

Since the amount of electricity produced by PV cells is related to how much sunlight it receives, it is important to mount the panels on a surface that receives direct sunlight and is not shaded by trees or other buildings. An array has the greatest output when mounted on a roof that gets a lot of sun (in the northern hemisphere, this means a south-facing roof; see Figure 3). An array on a roof can be angled to take advantage of how the earth tilts during its orbit around the sun.

Tracking systems move some solar panels so they follow the sun across the sky during all times of the year, which produces the greatest amount of energy possible. However, these moving systems are typically not found on buildings.

Many benefits are associated with the use of PVs for building applications. Because of the increasing concern over greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental issues resulting from burning fossil fuels, electricity made from the sun provides a way to make electricity with no direct emissions. Using solar PVs are also beneficial in remote locations where power lines are difficult to access - because the solar energy is produced and used on site. Having a PV system also provides protection against blackouts in regions where energy production is unreliable or limited.

Some disadvantages to using solar PVs are worth considering. For example, solar panels are still expensive. For people in remote villages and those who suffer from "energy poverty," acquiring a PV system is almost economically impossible. In addition, since the amount of energy produced is dependent on the amount of sunshine available, the system output can fluctuate. The supply of energy must simultaneously meet the demand, and vice-versa, which is often not a reality. Connecting the building to the power grid can compensate by supplying extra electricity when needed or by allowing surplus energy to be fed into the grid. During nighttime hours, energy cannot be generated, so alternative energy sources must be available. Although batteries are available to store unused electricity, these devices are currently very expensive. In addition, some fossil fuel energy and carbon dioxide production is associated with the initial production and installation of PV systems. Some environmental concerns exist about the manufacture and disposal of heavy metals used in some of the current solar cell technologies. Engineers are working to improve upon these issues.

Engineering Design Process: As students conduct this activity, they are performing some of the classic steps of the engineering design process. As makes sense, relate their activity to the real-world. The basic steps include: 1) ask to identify the need and constraints, 2) research the problem, 3) imagine possible solutions, 4) plan by selecting a promising solution, 5) create a prototype, 6) test and evaluate the prototype, 7) improve and redesign as needed; and repeat the cycle, as necessary, to conclude with an acceptable engineering solution. Learn more about the design process at https://www.teachengineering.org/design/designprocess.

Before the Activity

Gather materials and make copies of the Solar City Persuasive Letter Worksheet.

Since this is an open-ended activity in which students do most of the designing, as they begin to build, students may think of other materials they need, such as Popsicle sticks, thin plastic sheets, pebbles, Astroturf.

Pre-cut the foam core board to use as the walls and roofs of the buildings. Vary the sizes so that each group's building has different dimensions.

Collect enough large pieces of cardboard (cut up large cardboard boxes) so each group has a plot of land on which to build. These can also be different shapes.

Collect enough lights, buzzers and motors; make sure they are all working properly.

With the Students: Day 1

Start the activity with the Introduction/Motivation, which includes a teacher demonstration on how the solar panels work: Attach a solar panel to a piece of foam core board and connect a light in series (and optionally, connect a voltmeter across the solar panel; this creates a parallel circuit). Notice that the light bulb in the circuit does not work indoors. The radiant energy from the lights in the room is not powerful enough to generate the required voltage. Take the class outside and show students that the light from the sun is more powerful; the solar panel can create enough electricity to power the light. Tilt the panel to show students how that changes the amount of electricity being generated by the panel. Also show them that the direction the panel faces has a large impact on the amount of electricity created. This can be seen by the intensity difference of the light bulb. Including a voltmeter in the circuit provides measurements of the voltage across the solar panel that further demonstrate these effects.

After this demonstration, lead a class discussion about where the best place to attach the solar panel would be. (Answer: Attaching solar panels on a south-facing roof produces the most electricity. The optimal angle for a solar panel depends on latitude and climate, but usually falls between 20o and 40o from horizontal for most U.S. states. There are many online calculators that will give you an optimal angle for your specific location.)

With the Students: Day 2

1. Divide the class into teams of three or four students each.

2. Begin by having the students brainstorm Solar City building ideas with their groups. What type of building do they want to design and build, as a model? Suggest students make lists and/or draw pictures of their ideas (see finished examples in Figures 4 and 5).

3. Once a group has decided on the type of building they want to build, give them the pre-cut wall and roof pieces for a generic model building. From this, have them measure and draw to make a two-dimensional scaled drawing of the buildings. (Alternatively, for more advanced students, give them graph paper to make a two-dimensional scaled drawing of a building they design from scratch, and then have them cut their own wall and roof pieces from the foam core board.) Tell students what basic construction materials are available. Have them customize for the type of building they are designing. Remind students to address the following in their drawings:

Placement of doors, windows, roof and solar panel.

List of construction materials, including any additional ones for the teacher to get.

What devices they plan to install (light, buzzer, motor), for example, use the motors to make fans, revolving doors or revolving signs. Make fan blades from note cards or thin plastic cut from plastic drink bottles.

With the Students: Day 3

1. Distribute the large pieces of cardboard (for the plots of land) to accommodate students' pre-cut model buildings.

2. Have students draw on the form core board pieces where they want doors and/or windows cut.

3. Have teachers and adults help students cut the board using Xacto TM knives.

4. Once the doors and windows are cut, have adults help students use hot glue to adhere the building walls onto the cardboard bases, as well as other building design components. This takes a lot of hot glue so have plenty on hand! Tip: Assemble roof geometries, but wait to glue them to the walls until after the wiring is done.

5. Have students paint the exterior building walls and design their plot of land (for example, painting a parking lot, landscaping or lake; attaching pebbles or Astroturf).

6. Math component: Incorporate some math by having students who chose to use Astroturf measure their dimensions and calculate the area needed to cover. Or, have all teams measure and calculate the footprint area of their buildings, then use their drawing scales to convert from model to real-life dimensions.

With the Students: Day 4

1. Attach the solar panels to the roofs of the houses using looped pieces of duct tape. Attach the light, buzzer or motor, in a circuit using wires and alligator clamps (see Figure 5 and the diagram in Figure 1). Then, use hot glue to secure the roofs to the building walls.

2. Once the structures are complete, move them all outdoors into a completed Solar City (see Figure 6). Have each group make a presentation on their building, how they integrated their solar panel, what it is used for and at least one thing they learned during the activity.

With the Students: Day 5

Lead a class discussion about the use of electricity. Ask the students how they use it at home, at school, or in other buildings in their city. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using photovoltaic panels on building?

Have students write a persuasive letter to parents or the principal inviting them to tour the class's Solar City, as described in the post-activity assessment in the Assessment section. Have them incorporate their opinions about solar energy use.

Vocabulary/Definitions

architectural engineer: A type of engineer that designs the layout of a building.

blueprint: A detailed plan or technical drawing used to represent the dimensions of a building.

brainstorm: A team creativity activity with the purpose to generate a large number of potential solutions to a design challenge.

dimension: A measurement that describes the size and shape of an object (such as width, height, length).

electrical engineer : A type of engineer that designs the electrical systems of a building.

model: (noun) A representation of something for imitation, comparison or analysis, sometimes on a different scale.

solar array : A group of two or more photovoltaic panels.

solar panel: A device that converts radiant energy from the sun into electricity.

solar power: Electric power created from converting radiant energy from the sun into electricity (or electrical energy) that can be used to do work.

Assessment

Pre-Activity Assessment

Idea Pooling: As a class, make a list of the types of buildings found in a city. Then discuss how these buildings use electricity.

Concept Reflection/Writing: Have students list five devices that they use at home or school that require electricity, followed by a sentence describing hardships that would be faced without these devices.

Activity Embedded Assessment

Measuring & Drawing: Have students use rulers to create scaled drawings of their buildings. To incorporate some math, have students measure and calculate the area to be covered by Astroturf, or the footprint of their building. Then use their drawing scales to convert the areas from model to real-life dimensions. Additionally, have students measure the angle of their roof using a protractor. How does the angle relate to the optimal solar panel angle for their house?

Presentation: Have each group make a presentation to the rest of the class that describes their building, how they integrated the solar panel, what it is used for and at least one thing they learned during the class's creation of Solar City.

Post-Activity Assessment

Class Discussion: As a class, make lists on the board of the advantages and disadvantages of using photovoltaic panels on buildings.

Persuasive Writing: Have students write letters to their principal or parents inviting them to take a tour of Solar City, using the Solar City Persuasive Letter Worksheet. Have them include their opinion on the use of photovoltaic panels (why they think their own school should/should not use them) including some of the statements from the list of advantages/disadvantages. Suggest that they also incorporate ideas from their discussions about energy poverty and the use of electricity.

Investigating Questions

Where is the best place to attach a solar panel so that it creates the greatest amount of electricity possible? (Answer: The best place to put solar panels is on the roof of a house, away from trees or other tall buildings that may block the sunlight. To get the most sunlight possible, angle the solar panel using your understanding of how the earth orbits the sun and the location/latitude of your house.)

What happens when the solar panel is tilted at different angles? (Answer: The amount of electricity produced changes depending on the panel's relative position to the sun. When the entire solar panel is directly facing the sun, it gets the most energy possible and creates the most electricity. As you tilt the panel away from the sun, the amount of solar energy it receives decreases and the amount of electricity generated decreases as well.)

How can solar panels help people that do not have access to the electrical power grid? (Answer: With solar panels, people can generate electricity without needing to be connected to the electrical power grid. This can help people who live in remote areas and who live in countries where power outages are common.)

Safety Issues

Depending on the age and ability of the students, limit their use of hot glue and cutting blades. Use adult assistance and supervision as makes sense. Refer to the attached Foam Core Tips handout.

Troubleshooting Tips

If sunlight is unavailable, a 100-watt incandescent lamp provides enough radiation for each mini solar panel.

To remove the reusable electronic devices, carefully disassemble the roofs using sharp razor blades. Then, if students want to take the buildings home, you may need to re-glue the roofs to the building walls.

Activity Extensions

Roof Redesign for Rainwater Collection: After the electronics have been removed from the houses, have students design a new type of roof that can catch rainwater and store it in a cistern. The roofs must be designed in a way in which they still protect the building interior and its walls from getting wet. Construct roofs from foam core board or cardboard covered with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, wax paper or other waterproof materials that students find. Attach the foil, plastic wrap or wax paper materials with glue.

Mix in Some Math: To increase the amount of math used in the project, ask students to calculate: the area of their roof, the area on the roof covered with photovoltaic panels, and the proportion of the roof covered with photovoltaic panels. For an in-class activity, ask students to write these calculations on the board in a table and compare them to their classmates' answers.

Activity Scaling

For lower grades, permit drawings to be less detailed and not to scale.

For upper grades, have students create three-dimensional drawings of their buildings using a computer-aided drawing program.

For upper grades, ask teams to calculate the area footprint of their buildings and use their drawing scales to calculate the real-life dimensions.

For more advanced students, do not pre-cut the foam core board into pieces for generic building models. Instead, have students cut out the walls and roofs as specified by their own scaled drawings.

References

Different Types of Solar Panels. Posted on December 30, 2008. GOT SOLAR? Making Renewable Energy Easy. http://www.gotsolar.com/index.php/page/2/ Accessed April 6, 2010.

Solar Panels. Last updated June 23, 2006. Urban Ecology Australia. http://www.urbanecology.org.au/topics/solarpanels.html Accessed April 6, 2010.

Types of Solar Panels and How They Work. Solar Power Products, Information, Guides and News. FindPortableSolarPower.com. http://findportablesolarpower.com/types-solar-panels/ Accessed April 6, 2010.

Copyright © 2009 by Regents of the University of Colorado

Contributors Lesley Herrmann; Abbie Watrous; Bev Louie; Jean Parks; Denise W. Carlson

Supporting Program Integrated Teaching and Learning Program, College of Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder

Acknowledgements

The contents of this digital library curriculum were developed under grants from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), U.S. Department of Education, and National Science Foundation (GK-12 grant no 0338326). However, these contents do not necessarily represent the policies of the Department of Education or National Science Foundation, and you should not assume endorsement by the federal government.

Last modified: January 18, 2022

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Students design and build a model city powered by the sun! They learn about the benefits of solar power, and how architectural and building engineers integrate photovoltaic panels into the design of buildings.

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Title: Build a Hydraulic Bridge

Students utilize different disciplines to build a bridge that raises with hydraulics. Math is involved because angles are used to build the bridge for structural strength (triangles). Engineering is involved because it is a design. Science is involved due to how hydraulics work.

This is a fantastic activity and really teaches (visually) the power of hydraulics!

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Fun and Easy Hydraulic Bridge Engineering Project for Kids

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Engineer a truss bridge that’s powered by a simple hydraulic system made from plastic syringes! Experiment with the science of hydraulic power.

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Title: Making a Balloon Powered Car

This activity involves science (forces) and engineering (designing a machine). Other content areas could include ELA (write an reflective post on the activity), or art (draw a design for the 'car' on copy paper and glue it to the plastic bottle.

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Title: Pendulum Painting

This can be interdisciplinary because involves a science concept of motion (pendulum), and obviously art. It is a fun activity that allows children to see the workings of a pendulum. Extension activities could involve researching other everyday tools that use a pendulum such as a a grandfather clock or a metronome.

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Watch the video below to see How to Make Pendulum Painting With Kidsin action. Make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more fun videos!

This Pendulum Painting Activity for Kids teaches children that everyday objects can create amazing art.

Teaching your children about art is really important. In our house, we like to learn about a wide variety of art.

From painting with watercolors, having fun with messy play or even painting pictures to gift to others, I feel very strongly about the fact that art helps children grow their imagination and creativity.

While sometimes it's nice to have the fancy paintbrushes and art set, it doesn't mean it's the only way to create beautiful works of art.

This fun activity will show your child that art is truly anywhere and everywhere that they want to see it.

I hope your child sees the fun and excitement of this fun painting activity!

Create beautiful art with this fun STEM painting activity using recycled materials!

There are many ways you can create pendulum painting and set up the contraption. We like to keep it easy around here and look for recycled materials on hand.

In fact we keep a bin of paper tubes and cardboard scraps around for when inspiration strikes!

You will need to create two poles and one across to hold the paint container. We had a long, rectangular skinny tube we cut in half and then just hot glued a paper towel tube across. Easy!

Leftover from a rainbow party, were these rainbow paper food cups so we used those as the paint containers. Then you just need a hole punch, paint and string!

Make note, from trial and error, we found we had to tape the cardboard poles down the table with some packing tape or else they knocked over or were wobbly when we moved the little paint bucket around.

This was a great STEM exercise and scientific observation for the kids. What happens when A occurs? How do you fix it with B?

How hard is it to create pendulum paintings?

This is what makes this activity to special and unique. It's really super easy when set up. Once the paint gets added into the holder, your child literally has to do very little work to create a stunning piece of art.

The hardest part is probably cleaning up in the end. We have some tips to give you however, which is covering your entire table with a canvas paint drop cloth.

As you can see ours is lovingly stained from years of past, messy paint experiments and crafts.

The best part is the more it's used, the more beautiful it gets. Just wipe off the paint and let the drop cloth dry.

Or you can take this pendulum painting outdoors and use washable paint and hose it all down.

What skillsets does this Pendulum Painting Activity for Kids work on?

Anytime a new activity or project is introduced to a child, there's a good chance that it's going to test their patience and understanding.

And that's okay! It's normal for kids to be curious and want to know everything about what is going on.

Narrowing it down to skillsets based on that, I would have to say that this painting activity works on patience, following directions, hand-eye coordination, and logic. Add a sprinkling of curiosity and tinkering for good measure.

How to set up this Pendulum Painting Activity for Kids

As you can probably tell by now, most of our activities and projects use very little supplies or ingredients. And we have no intention of changing that! It's one of our favorite parts about sharing them with all of you.

As mentioned above, you can use recycled materials for this pendulum painting. However, we hope to inspire and not box you in to just one method.

There are oodles of ways to create a pendulum painting. This one using a plastic bottle is genius and creates elevated art prints!

Pendulum Painting Activity for Kids - Materials:

If you love this fun Pendulum Painting Activity for Kids, make certain to check out these other painting activities as well:
Rainbow Brush Painting
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This Pendulum Painting Activity for Kids teaches children that everyday objects can create amazing art. Fun STEM painting recycled project.

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Title: Oobleck!

Oobleck (taken from a Dr. Seuss book) involves multiple disciplines such as science (Newtonian fluids), math (measurement), and art (if colors are added!).

This is a fun activity that is really interesting with how it behaves. The students will be fascinated by this and enjoy the entire process.

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Making an experiment with oobleck is very easy and a lot of fun for kids (and adults too!). The name oobleck comes from a Dr. Seuss story and is used commonly nowadays to name a non-newtonian fluid made from cornstarch and water. A non-newtonian fluid is a fluid that does not behave according to Newton's law of viscosity. In other words, it has a different resistance to flow. It is sensitive to pressure and will change from solid to liquid depending on how much pressure we put on it. Because it is so easy to make at home, and it behaves so differently from other things we know, it creates the perfect environment for sneaking in some STEM learning.

In our house, we love to add color to anything. So when we decided to make some oobleck the other day, we got out our food coloring and added it to the mix. The result was fascinating! Because of the special properties of the mixture the colors created beautiful curves and spirals before mixing. In this post, you will learn how to create rainbow art and more brilliant ways to experiment with oobleck. You will also find out how you can engage with your kids so that they can learn from this experiment.

Oobleck Recipe

All you need to make oobleck is cornstarch, water, and food coloring. We made it in a large oven tray so that we could spread it out before adding color. This way you will get the beautiful effects I was talking about earlier. You will usually need around twice the amount of cornstarch than water (2 cups of cornstarch to 1 cup of water). These would be the steps to follow:

1. In a large oven tray add 1 cup of water

2. Start adding cornstarch until you reach the desired effect (oobleck should feel hard when you try to make it into a ball but as soon as you stop it will flow through your fingers)

3. Once you achieve the right consistency let it settle and start experimenting

5 Brilliant ways to experiment with oobleck for STEM learning

Making Oobleck in itself is already an awesome and fun experiment. However, the experiment doesn't have to end there! If we want learning to stick, we have to go beyond the initial experiment and allow our children to do some discovery on their own. Here are some suggestions for keeping them engaged and curious about the experiment:

Add drops of color and make some rainbow art. This was our favorite part! Yes... adults enjoy this too!

Play with loose parts. We used colorful tops and our kid made towers using the oobleck as glue!! Just collect some objects and leave them around the experiment area and see what your kids come up with

Use kitchen utensils and observe how different this mixture is to manipulate compared to water

Create droplets outside of the tray. We did this outside on our waterproof tablecloth we use for experiments so we didn't mind the mess. We let some drops fall out of the tray and observed what happened when they dried out. We compared bigger drops and smaller drops and then we added them back to the tray for more fun effects

Make a ramp and let the oobleck flow down. We just put a block under our tablecloth, no fancy ramp needed for this but feel free to make one too. We talked about rivers and lakes with this and how different liquids flow

Check out how our rainbow art turned out in this video:

Experiment with Oobleck observations and conversations

If you are doing this with preschool-aged children it is great to just talk and make observations while you do the experiment. By talking with your kids you are helping them build vocabulary so that they can understand the world better. When we make observations, we help them reflect on what is happening and connect ideas. So here are some suggestions when making the oobleck:

Add cornstarch gradually and observe the changes: is it getting harder?

Try to make little balls with your hands: what happens? As soon as you stop trying to roll the oobleck into a ball it will flow across your hand

What happens if you poke the oobleck fast? What happens if you just gently put your finger on it? When poking fast the oobleck should behave more like playdough being poked and when going slow it will behave more like pancake batter

For older elementary school kids you can add complexity to your conversation by talking about the following concepts and asking questions:

Liquid/solid: when does it behave like a liquid/solid?

Viscosity: how does this mixture flow compared to water? You can use a ramp to compare

Pressure/force: when we apply pressure what happens? Does the amount of pressure change the consistency?

Color mixing: what happens when we add drops of color? Why do you think it doesn't mix directly?

We always suggest to wonder out loud with your kids instead of asking question after question. For example, "if I apply pressure I wonder what will happen?" or "what do you think will happen when we add color?". It is always more fun to discover together than to be drilled.

Follow-up activity: Comparisons

Once you've explored oobleck, make something else. We mixed plain wheat flour with water to see how different the results were. It's good for kids to have something to compare and as a bonus the entertainment lasted even longer!

This is definitely something you can repeat many times and it is always fun. And each time you do it you might find some cool way to play and experiment with oobleck. So make sure to always have cornstarch and food coloring available.

Happy STEM learning!

Check out other brilliant activities for young kids:

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5 Brilliant Ways To Experiment With Oobleck

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Explore the creative side of science and discover fun ways to experiment with oobleck. Easy to make and extremely engaging for little ones!

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Click above to view activity.

Title: Cloud in a Jar

This activity is interdisciplinary because it involves science (weather science), and math (measurement of materials).

What a wonderful way for children of all ages to witness (up close) the formation of a cloud right before their eyes. This will help students understand the formation of clouds high up in the sky as well as fog (which is mysterious to many people who don't know the science behind it!)

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Weather science: How to make a cloud in a jar (2 different methods!)

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Two different methods to make a cloud in a jar, plus an explanation of the science behind each method.

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Click above to view the activity.

Title: Marshmallow Message

This activity involves science (Maillard reaction), ELA (spelling), and art (creativity).

Students will learn how adding baking soda will speed up the reaction, and acids like lemon juice will slow the reaction down. Plus, what a better way for students to learn about this than with big fluffy marshmallows?

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minutes

15 minutes or fewer

These Aha! resources are also available in Spanish!
If you've ever toasted a slice of bread or a marshmallow, you've noticed delicious aromas wafting from the food as it turns slightly brown in color. And when you pop one of those toasted morsels in your mouth, you taste a yummy flavor.

How do foods like these become browner and tastier as they toast?

The answer is through a chemical process called the Maillard reaction (pronounced may-ARD). Named after Louis-Camille Maillard, the French chemist who described the phenomenon, the Maillard reaction is actually a series of chemical reactions between sugars and proteins that occur when food is heated.

The Maillard reaction isn't the only way that food can turn brown. Perhaps you've burnt pizza crust in the oven, or noticed an apple slice get darker over time; in both cases, other chemical reactions are involved. But where cooking and baking are concerned, the Maillard reaction is particularly important because it produces distinctive, appetizing aromas and flavors in food that accompany the browning.

With a little chemistry, you can control where and when that toasty color appears by creating a hidden message on a marshmallow. Here's how:

Materials

An oven, toaster oven, or campfire and the help of an adult.

Baking soda, baking powder, and lemon juice

Optional: a pinch of cornstarch to thicken your mixture

What to do:

Put a couple tablespoons of water in a cup.

Add a couple pinches of baking soda or baking powder to the water. Stir with a paintbrush. Add a pinch of cornstarch to thicken it if you'd like.

Use the solution to paint a letter or two onto a marshmallow. (It will be invisible!) Repeat this step on several marshmallows so you spell out a secret message.

When you are ready to reveal your message, toast your marshmallows, with the help of an adult, until the letters are visible.
If you are using an oven, place marshmallows on a cookie sheet on the top rack, set the oven to broil, and watch - toasting may take less than a minute!

Optional: Use a kitchen timer to record how long it takes your message to appear.

Repeat this procedure with just plain water (that is, without baking soda), and see what happens after toasting your marshmallows.

Be curious, ask questions, mess with stuff

What happened? Describe what changes you observed in your marshmallows as they toasted. Can you see the letters that you painted on each?

If you can see the letters, are they the same color as other parts of the marshmallow, or different? Describe any similarities or differences that you see.

Did the baking soda mixture make the marshmallows turn a toasty brown color faster or slower than the parts that weren't painted?

Lick a toasted marshmallow. Does the part with baking soda taste the same or different from the parts of the marshmallow without baking soda?

What happens if you keep toasting the marshmallow? Do the other parts of the marshmallow eventually turn the same color as the letters?

Were there any other indications that your marshmallows underwent a Maillard reaction? Did your marshmallows smell different after they were toasted?

Aha! The baking soda speeds up the toasting!

Look at a marshmallow that you painted with baking soda. The painted area should appear darker than the surrounding areas, which means that it toasted faster. Why would adding baking soda speed up the toasting process?

Baking soda is a base, and as it turns out, bases speed up the Maillard reaction. If you licked your marshmallow after toasting it, you should have been able to taste the baking soda on the outside. A substance that increases the rate or speed at which a reaction takes place, without being used up itself, is called a catalyst. Put another way, baking soda catalyzed the Maillard reaction!

While bases such as baking soda (also called sodium bicarbonate, or NaHCO ₃) speed up Maillard reactions, acids slow them down.

What do you think would happen if you decided to paint your marshmallow with an acid, like lemon juice, instead of with baking soda?

Experiment more, make predictions. It's what scientists do.

Ask questions: Do you think using a base with other foods would work to catalyze the Maillard reaction? What would happen if you tried painting baking soda solution on bread before putting it into a toaster?

Modify the experiment: Try painting letters on your marshmallow with other edible acids and bases, like lemon juice (acid), milk (base), or vinegar (acid).

Predict what will happen: For each type of acid or base, make a prediction about what you think will happen as the marshmallow toasts. Do you think the letters will turn brown faster or slower than the rest of the marshmallow? Justify your prediction!

Document your experimental results: Photograph your experimental marshmallows, with labels showing what was painted on them. Record your experiment in a journal, detailing what happened and why. Don't forget to use nifty chemistry lingo, like catalyst and Maillard reaction.

Tell other people: What is a catalyst? What is a Maillard reaction? Teach other people what you learned!

Did you do this tasty experiment? Show us your marshmallow messages by tweeting them to @scifri with the hashtag #marshmallowmessage

Aha! by Science Friday, is a series of short science experiments that you can do in 15 minutes or less, with materials you can find at home.

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Use chemistry to spell out an edible secret marshmallow message!