While Jacobie was with me this past weekend, I thought we’d try another science experiment because we haven’t done one for a while. So I came up with this one, which ended up looking like this:

This is just the simple one of using drain cleaner gel, water and aluminium foil to produce hydrogen gas. If it had produced enough, the balloon could’ve been tied off and floated to the ceiling, but it seems I had the concentration wrong and it took hours to get that far. I’ll give it another go with less water, and larger pieces of foil to see if it has a faster reaction.

I know this has been discussed previously and I can’t find the previous topic (new laptop, no bookmarks), so I’m wondering what else can be done with a 7yo (sorry, 7 and a half) that can get him interested in science? I was glad to see this particular one managed to get him off the iPad for once!

>I was glad to see this particular one managed to get him off the iPad for once!

:) good to see

jumped a few steps with my kids of experiments similar, not much of a chemistry lesson, we went straight to an overcharging motorbike battery on the end of 15 metres of clear plastic pipe with large party balloons attached at the other end, would pump them full, detach pipe from battery then finger over pipe, get a safe distance from the battery, light it at that end of pipe, and hell of a bang instantly the other end. Pipe served as a reusable fuse. Keeps you a safe distance from balloon (static etc). Rattled the neighbors windows.

transition said:

>I was glad to see this particular one managed to get him off the iPad for once!

:) good to see

jumped a few steps with my kids of experiments similar, not much of a chemistry lesson, we went straight to an overcharging motorbike battery on the end of 15 metres of clear plastic pipe with large party balloons attached at the other end, would pump them full, detach pipe from battery then finger over pipe, get a safe distance from the battery, light it at that end of pipe, and hell of a bang instantly the other end. Pipe served as a reusable fuse. Keeps you a safe distance from balloon (static etc). Rattled the neighbors windows.

should add it’s probably dangerous

Try flying a kite.

It’s inexpensive, not difficult, safe, and kids find it fascinating that they can get the thing up so high, be connected to it, and feel the pull of the aerodynamic forces.

http://graysci.com/chapter-one/ice-capades/

Then Gray’s book “mad science” has some totally off the wall science experiments. Like ice cubes that sink.

Check out the seven chapters on the link.

JTQ said:

While Jacobie was with me this past weekend, I thought we’d try another science experiment because we haven’t done one for a while. So I came up with this one, which ended up looking like this:

This is just the simple one of using drain cleaner gel, water and aluminium foil to produce hydrogen gas. If it had produced enough, the balloon could’ve been tied off and floated to the ceiling, but it seems I had the concentration wrong and it took hours to get that far. I’ll give it another go with less water, and larger pieces of foil to see if it has a faster reaction.

I know this has been discussed previously and I can’t find the previous topic (new laptop, no bookmarks), so I’m wondering what else can be done with a 7yo (sorry, 7 and a half) that can get him interested in science? I was glad to see this particular one managed to get him off the iPad for once!

be careful

add small amounts of caustic soda TO the water – not the other way

adding caustic soda to water is an exothermic reaction which also means that the reaction with the aluminium goes much faster so things move along fast

get a lite of water, add a level teaspoon to the water, let the water heat up and cool down – then add the aluminium and see what happens

its trial and error – better to add more caustic in small amounts of water than risk the reaction going off – you’ll have steam and molten flying out the bottle neck other wise.

oh yes – don’t do this inside your house.

i set something off like this in someones kitchen years ago, steam laden with aluminium globs had to be cleaned off the walls, the caustic steam covered everything.

they found a nice cake about 2m behind us – i decided not to eat it, i didn’t have the heart to tell them the cake had been doused with caustic and aluminium dust. in practical terms it wouldn’t have been particularly poisonous and i wasn’t game enough to eat it.