“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”
“Imagination is more important than knowledge.”
“The eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility.”
“The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible.”
“The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking.”
—-Albert Einstein

Just a few of Einstein’s many quotes.

“Anyone who has…

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(SAFE!!!) Exploding bag!

One small (sandwich size) zip-lock bag – freezer bags work best.
Baking soda
Warm water
Vinegar
Measuring cup
A tissue
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.
3. Put 3 teaspoons of baking soda into the middle of the tissue
4. Wrap the the baking soda up in the tissue by folding the tissue around it.
5. 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.
6. 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!

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Water Bottle Rockets

One empty plastic water bottle
A couple of  fizzing antacid tablet (such as Alka-Seltzer – Get this from
your parents)
Water Popsicle Sticks

Tape

Safety goggles

1. Put on those safety goggles and head outside – no really, when this works, that water bottle really
flies! If you want to try the indoor version, do not turn the bottle upside down in step 5.
2. Tape the Popsicle Sticks to the cap side of the bottle making it so that it acts as a stand for the bottle if it were turned upside down.

3.Break the antacid tablets in half.
4. Remove the lid from the water bottle and put a few teaspoons of water into the bottle.
Do the next 2 steps quickly
5. Drop the tablet half into the bottle and snap the cap onto the canister (make sure that it snaps on
tightly.)
6. Quickly put the bottle on the ground CAP SIDE DOWN and STEP BACK at least 2 meters.
7. About 10 seconds later, you will hear a POP! and the bottle will launch into the air!
Caution: If it does not launch, wait at least 30 second before examining the bottle. Usually the cap is
not on tight enough and the build up of gas leaked out

 

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Easy two-minute homemade gak

This is a quick, easy, non-messy  recipe to make your own gak at home.
Materials
  • Elmers Glue (8 oz bottle of Elmers Glue-All)
  • Borax (a powdered soap found in the grocery store)
  • Large mixing bowl
  • Plastic cup (8 oz size works well)
  • Spoon
  • Measuring cup
  • Food coloring (the spice of life)
  • Water
  • Paper towel (hey, youve got to clean up!)
  • Zipper-lock bag (dont you want to keep it when youre done?)
  • Water

EXPERIMENT

Here’s the easiest way to make a big batch Elmer’s Slime. The measurements do not have to be exact but it’s a good idea to start with the proportions below for the first batch. Just vary the quantities of each ingredient to get a new and interesting batch of goo.

  1. This recipe is based on using a brand new 8 ounce bottle of Elmer’s Glue. Empty the entire bottle of glue into a mixing bowl. Fill the empty bottle with warm water and shake (okay, put the lid on first and then shake). Pour the glue-water mixture into the mixing bowl and use the spoon to mix well.
  2. Go ahead… add a drop or two of food coloring. 
  3. Measure 1/2 cup of warm water into the plastic cup and add a teaspoon of Borax powder to the water. Stir the solution – don’t worry if all of the powder dissolves. This Borax solution is the secret linking agent that causes the Elmer’s Glue molecules to turn into slime.
  4. While stirring the glue in the mixing bowl, slowly add a little of the Borax solution. Immediately you’ll feel the long strands of molecules starting to connect. It’s time to abandon the spoon and use your hands to do the serious mixing. Keep adding the Borax solution to the glue mixture (don’t stop mixing) until you get a perfect batch of Elmer’s slime. You might like your slime more stringy while others like firm slime. Hey, you’re the head slime mixologist – do it your way!
  5. When you’re finished playing with your Elmer’s slime, seal it up in a zipper-lock bag for safe keeping.

 

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Elephant toothpaste using yeast

This is a safer version of the popular experiment, using activated yeast instead of Potassium Iodide. 
Materials
  • 16 oz empty plastic soda bottle (preferably with a narrow neck such as those made by Coca-Cola)
  • 1/2 cup 20-volume hydrogen peroxide (20-volume is 6% solution, purchased from a beauty supply store)
  • Squirt of Dawn dish detergent
  • 3-4 drops of food coloring
  • 1 teaspoon yeast dissolved in approximately 2 tablespoons very warm water
  • Funnel
  • Foil cake pan with 2-inch sides
  • Safety glasses
  • Lab smock

EXPERIMENT

  1. Have students put on their safety glasses and lab smock.  Each student should have in front of them a cake pan, plastic bottle, Dawn in small cup, food coloring, 1/2 cup peroxide, and the dissolved yeast mixture.
  2. Stand the bottle up in the center of the cake pan. Put the funnel in the opening. Add 3-4 drops of food coloring to the peroxide and pour the peroxide through the funnel into the bottle. Show a water molecule diagram and a peroxide molecule diagram, pointing to the extra oxygen that will be set free in the reaction.
  3. Add the Dawn detergent to the peroxide in the bottle.
  4. Pour the yeast mixture into the bottle and quickly remove the funnel.
  5. The students can touch the bottle to feel any changes that take place.

 

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