SCIENCE FAIR IDEAS

BALLOON ROCKET
To make a working balloon rocket in your own room, you will need:

YOU NEED: 1 balloon (round ones will work, but the longer "airship" balloons work best), 1 long piece of kite string (about 10-15 feet long), 1 plastic straw, tape

Here's what to do:

1. Tie one end of the string to a chair, door knob, or other support.
2. Put the other end of the string through the straw.
3. Pull the string tight and tie it to another support in the room.
4. Blow up the balloon (but don't tie it) Pinch the end of the balloon and tape it to the straw. You're ready for launch.
5. Let go and watch the rocket fly! You can experiment to figure out how to make the rocket go farther and faster.

THE EXPLODING LUNCHBAG
A whole new way to use sandwich bags!
YOU NEED:: One small zip-lock bag - small freezer bags work best, Baking soda, Warm water, Vinegar, Measuring cup, A tissue

What to do:

1. Go outside - or at least do this in the kitchen sink
2. Put 1/4 cup of pretty warm water into the bag.
3. Add 1/2 cup of vinegar to the water in the bag.
4. Put 3 teaspoons of baking soda into the middle of the tissue
5. Wrap the the baking soda up in the tissue by folding the tissue around it.
6. You will have to work fast now - partially zip the bag closed but leave enough space to add the baking soda packet. Put the tissue with the baking soda into the bag and quickly zip the bag completely closed.
7 Put the bag in the sink or down on the ground (outside) and step back. The bag will start to expand, and expand, and if all goes well...POP!
Cool huh? Nothing like a little chemistry to to add fun to a boring afternoon. What happens inside the bag is actually pretty interesting - the baking soda and the vinegar eventually mix (the tissue buys you some time to zip the bag shut) When they do mix, you create an ACID-BASE reaction and the two chemicals work together to create a gas, (carbon dioxide - the stuff we breathe out) well it turns out gasses need a lot of room and the carbon dioxide starts to fill the bag, and keeps filling the bag until the bag can no longer hold it any more and, POP! Be sure to clean up well and recycle those plastic bags...have fun!

RUBBER CHICKEN BONE
You will need: A jar large enough to fit a chicken bone, A chicken bone - a leg or "drumstick" bone works best, Vinegar,

What to do:

1. Have a nice chicken dinner and save a bone.
2. Rinse off the bone in running water to remove any stuff from the bone.
3. Notice how hard the bone is - try bending it. Like our bones, chicken bones have a mineral called calcium in them to make them hard.
4.Put the bone into the jar and cover the bone with vinegar. It might be a good idea to put the lid on the jar or cover it - let it sit for 3 days
5. After 3 days remove the bone. It will feel different, and interesting. You can rinse it off and try bending it again. Is it really a rubber bone?

MAKE YOUR OWN ROCK CANDY
THIS EXPERIMENT REQUIRES ADULT HELP - IT DEALS WITH VERY HOT LIQUIDS
BE SMART AND BE SAFE - ONLY DO THIS WITH ADULT HELP

You will need

15cm piece of string, A pencil, A paper clip (or large plastic bead), 1 cup of water, 2 cups of sugar, A glass jar

What to do

1. Tie the 15 cm piece of string to the middle of the pencil.
2. Tie the paper clip (or bead) onto the end of the string.
3. Put the pencil across the top of a jar so that the string hangs down the middle of the jar. If it hangs down too far, roll the string around the pencil until the string is not touching the sides or bottom of the jar. The string will act as a seed for the crystal. Any type of jar will do, but canning jars, pint size are especially nice, they will endure the hot temperatures. Tall skinny olive jars are also nice because they don't use up so much of the liquid.
4. Now that the string and pencil are ready remove them from the jar and put them aside
5. Get a helpful adult!
6. Pour the water into a pan and bring it to boil.
7. Pour about 1/4 cup of sugar into the boiling water, stirring until it dissolves.
8. Keep adding more and more sugar, each time stirring it until it dissolves, until no more will dissolve. This will take time and patience and it will take longer for the sugar to dissolve each time.Be sure you don't give up too soon.
9. Have your friendly ADULT carefully pour the hot sugar solution into the jars to the top. Then submerge the paper clip and string into the sugar solution. Be sure the string hangs down in the middle of the jar.
10. Allow the jar to cool and put it someplace where it will not be disturbed.
Now just wait. The sugar crystals will grow for the next few weeks. When you mixed the water and sugar you made a SUPER SATURATED SOLUTION. This means that the water could only hold the sugar if both were very hot. As the water cools the sugar "comes out" of the solution back into sugar crystals on your string. The string and paper clip act as a "seed" that they start to grow on. With some luck and patience you will have a tasty scientific treat! Enjoy!

MAKE A WORKING HOVERCRAFT

So you want your very own hovercraft. Of course it's only big enough to hold a mouse (maybe two if the first one scrunches down real low) but hey, we're not old enough for a driver's license anyway...

1. Cut a 4-inch square out of the cardboard.
2. Punch a hole in the cardboard - you may need to get an adult to do this part. If you attempt it yourself be very careful. Make sure you punch the hole in the centre of the cardboard. The hole should be the same size as the hole in the spool.
3. Glue the spool to the cardboard on top of the hole. Make sure you glue it real good. Make sure the holes line up. Make sure you use enough glue to assure that no air can escape between the spool and the piece of cardboard. Make sure you put the lid back on the glue when you're finished.
4. Cover the top of the spool with a circle of paper - glue it to the spool and wait until the glue is good and dry.
5. Punch a hole in the middle of the paper cover where the hole of the spool is. Now your hole should run through the paper, spool, and cardboard without any obstructions (watch for too much glue).
6. Blow up the balloon and twist the end to keep the air from escaping. Stretch the balloon over the top of the spool.
7. Make sure your mouse is wearing his seatbelt (optional step).
8. Set the hovercraft on a level table. Let go of the balloon.

Cool huh? Give the hovercraft a few gently pushes.

The air flowing from the balloon through the holes forms a layer of air between the hovercraft and the table. This reduces the friction. This layer of air reduces the friction that would have existed if the hovercraft rested directly on the table. With less friction, your hovercraft scoots across the table.

Note. A Hovercraft or Air cushion vehicle (ACV) is a craft that travels on a layer of compressed air just above any kind of surface--land or water. The compressed air serves as an invisible cushion that eliminates almost all friction between the vehicle and the surface. ACV's, that are also known as hovercraft, can carry passengers, vehicles, and freight. Some ACV's can travel as fast as 80 miles (130 kilometres) per hour.