Tornadoes, Floating Paper Clips and Fizzy Fountains
....The Science Club has it all
Tornadoes, Floating Paper Clips, and Fizzy Fountains: The Science Club Has It All!
This past Saturday the Science Club met and members made the most of their Saturday morning by participating in many stimulating scientific activities. Students explored magnetic properties, electromagnets, circuitry, and tornadoes.
In a fun demonstration students made paper clips appear to “float” when attracted to nearby magnets. After some explanations of magnetic properties, students built cars that were powered by magnetic attraction and repulsion principles. They had fun racing their creations up and down the hallways. Students applied the principle that a magnetic field surrounds an electric circuit and built electromagnets using copper wires, nails, and batteries. The magnetic field was revealed to students in several ways: paper clips were attracted to the electromagnets, iron filings showed a “picture” of the magnetic field, and compasses also showed the presence of a magnetic field.
The connection between magnetic and electric fields was not lost on these young scientists as they explored the many ways to create circuits using old Christmas lights and a few batteries. Students presented some very creative methods to make the bulbs light. In future Science Club meetings, students will be building simple motors using the motor effect that results when magnetic and electric fields are combined.
Fountains were spouting diet cola when students enjoyed performing the infamous Mentos activity which has been viewed by many on Myth Busters. The empty 2 liter bottles were then utilized to make “tornadoes in a bottle.”
All students are invited to attend Science Club meetings. They are held every 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month, in the science lab, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. You are welcome to join us!
