When it is stormy and dramatic outside and the kids seem to be wired for sound I try and remember it is a great time for science and art and to put that energy to good use.
It is our habit when a storm hits to go a quick clean up. No ones dirty dishes in the sink if the power goes out and no one wants toys to trip on all over the floor if you suddenly find yourself in the dark. So after picking up a but we settled in and got to some fun. I picked a science experiment great for little kids from the stevespanglerscience.com site. This one is called The Leak-Proof Bag – Science Trick.
Supplies Needed:
Sharp Pencils
Ziplock Plastic Sandwich Baggies
Water
Optional:
Plastic Grocery Bags
Small Trash Bags
Large Bowl or Serving Plate to catch water!
Directions:
Fill the sandwich baggy 3/4 full of water.
Present the children with the baggie and the sharp pencils.
Ask them what they think will happen if you poked the pencil into the bag and through the other side.
When they have made their hypothesis, test it!
Firmly stick the sharp side of the pencil into the side of the bag under the water line and then through the other side making sure to not push the pencil all the way through the bag. The baggie of water should hold the pencil and not drip! Let your children add other pencils to the baggie and watch them not drip either.
Explain the great properties of the Ziplock plastic baggie. It is made of polymers that line up tightly in rows of molecules and that the pencils goes between the lines that tighten around the pencil to hold the water in. Polymers are very interesting but not all are the same. Have the kids draw that they think the polymers must look like going around the pencil and then together look up and learn more about polymers.
To show that not all polymers are the same try a plastic grocery bag next or small trash bag. As before ask the children to guess what might happen. Be warned, the plastic grocery bag makes one heck of wet mess!
My 7 year old and 5 year old really enjoyed this activity and there was a lot of giggling and straying of water. It is simple enough though and not hard to clean up. They now want to show all their friends and I have a feeling I will be apologizing for others having wet kitchens soon! It is for a good cause though, science!
