Teens (11-16)

May 22, 2013

10:15 AM - 11:15 AM

We will choose from the list below (unless you have a suggestion that seems more interesting). Depending on the students’ interest, we may spend more time on certain topics and omit others, so actual lessons covered in the class may differ from this list.
1. Jelly Jam Jar Jet: You’ll experiment with certain kinds of alcohol and certain kinds of jelly jars to see if you can make it into a rocket engine.
2. Inertia Tricks You’ll experiment with ways to remove things out from under a tower without the tower falling and you’ll try to yank a tablecloth out from under a turkey dinner without the dog getting the turkey.
3. Needle Through a Penny: Have you ever tried to pound a needle through a penny with a hammer? It’s a good way to get shards of needle stuck in your hands, face, and eyes. So, all you have to do is find a way to do it without leaking red stuff.
4. Sand Casting Wax: This seems simple enough… just pour melted wax into a mold made of sand. But, of course, it can end up being a disaster… we like disasters because we learn a lot from them.
5. Water-Powered Car: You’ll be getting all wet! The idea is to find the perfect combination of nozzle size and water in the pressure chamber to make your car go the furthest.
6. Gas Masks: You’ll experiment with different types of smell barriers in an attempt to create a gas mask that will keep your nose happy.
7. Dissolving Styrofoam: Environmentalists hate Styrofoam. So, in these experiments, you’ll try to completely destroy it and make it biodegradable.
8. Magnetic Force Amplification: You’ll get some wimpy magnets and other stuff with the idea of training those magnets into becoming super strong.
9. Lift by 100 MPH Wind: We have a bunch of leaf blowers so you can try to see how much weight they can support with wind pointing upwards. Then you have to find a way to make the same wind support something up against the ceiling, but the wind will be pointing downward.
10. 3-D Vision and Illusions: You’ll investigate ways to trick your mind into seeing 3-dimentional objects using dual images, colors, and polarized lenses.