Questacon > Kids > Shell Questacon Science Circus > Science Demonstrations > Even More Science Circus Demonstrations

Shell Questacon Science Circus

Here are some try-at-home demonstrations from the Shell Questacon Science Circus.

The Balloon Show

Balloons of all shapes and sizes are used to demonstrate pressure, static electricity, forces and air as a fuel.

Balloon party games

Balloons are great fun because there are so many cool things you can do with them. You can pick up glass jars using just a balloon, make your hair stick on end, and stick cups onto the side of balloons without using glue or sticky tape! An activity you can do at home is to make a balloon kebab!

You will need

• Two balloons
• A wooden skewer

What to do

1. Blow up the two balloons and tie the top.
2. Quickly poke the skewer through the side of the first balloon and see what happens.
3. With the second balloon, carefully push the skewer through the dark end of the balloon near the knot where you tied the top. What happened? Can you carefully push the skewer through the other dark patch without bursting the balloon?

What happens?

Skewering a balloon through the side - it pops, but when you push it carefully through the top of the balloon, didn't pop! This was because the side of the balloons are stretched very tightly, and when the skewer made a little hole in the side, all the air inside the balloon rushed out, made the hole bigger, and the balloon popped. At the top or the bottom of the balloon where the rubber is much thicker, the hole closes over the skewer with stretch to hold it in place and keep the air in.

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Bubblemania

The lowdown on bubbles! How do you make them? How can you make them last longer? Some interesting properties of bubbles. Bubbles bigger and smaller than you've ever seen.

Making a good bubble mix

To make a strong bubble mix solution the following ingredients are recommended:

• 1 part detergent (Morning Fresh works well)
• 2 parts water
• 10% glycerine (in this case, 0.3 parts)

Making bubbles

To make bubbles stronger, you can add a little more glycerine and leave the bubble mix for a while. The longer you leave the mixture, the stronger and better the bubbles will be. Give the mix a good stir before use and remove any froth before making your bubbles. Bubble making works best on cooler, moist days, otherwise they dry out and pop too fast.

To clean bubble mix from surfaces, spray vinegar over the area and wipe up.

Wash and dry metal bubble frames after each use or they will rust.

You can read about lots more bubble activities from the Tenix Questacon Maths Squad.

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Up, Up and Away

Be awoken to the secrets of planes, helicopeters, parachutes, balloons and seeds. The props from this show can be made at home or bought at the Science Circus shop.

The best kind of parachute

So you want to drop toy soldiers from high places. Well, as long as you DON'T JUMP AFTER THEM, here is the best way to make a toy parachute.

What to do

The trick is to use something light and strong for the parachute canopy. The Science Circus recommends a large, square piece cut out of a big garbage bin liner.

Fishing line is best for the harness. Cut four pieces of line to the same length.

Tie one end of each piece to the four corners of the parachute. (You might need to use sticky tape to stop the plastic ripping.)

Tie the other ends to the soldier, or Barbie doll, or whatever. (Actually, the whole doll is probably too heavy, maybe you should just use her head).

Holding the parachute in the middle, drop it from a dizzying height. (Try standing on a chair.)

What happens?

Air gets caught under any large, flat surface. The trapped air creates aerodynamic drag, slowing the parachute's fall. Some seeds and animals also glide (fall more slowly) because their wings act a bit like a parachute.

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