Need science experiment ideas for the summer

[conuly]

Also, art projects that aren't all either "Uh, here are some supplies, get messy" or "These are the carefully cut out parts, please make yours exactly like mine". Gosh, I hate the latter. I want all teachers of young children to memorize the phrase "it's the process, not the product" and apply it religiously.

Anyway, trying to do some fun and lightly educational things over the summer to make up for forcing Eva to do - gasp! - math every day. (The math is not optional.)

Comments

[kengr]

A variation on the magnet thru a copper tube is something my high school electronics teacher did.

He had a big horseshoe magnet (probably steel or some such, these days you could do it with a much smaller one). He'd attached a rod to the middle (on the outside of the curve, not the inside) so he could fasten it in the chuck of a *hand powered* drill.

He took a chunk of sheet aluminum and used a center punch the make a divot in the middle. Then he used that to balance the piece of aluminum on a big nail that was pointing up

Finally he took the magnet and drill and held it with the open end of the magnet an inch or so above the aluminum.

He pointed out that the aluminum wasn't attracted to the magnet. Then he started cranking the drill.

And slowly at first, the aluminum plate started to spin in the same direction as the magnet. It kept speeding up until it was turning just as fast.

Then he explained about magnetic fields inducing eddy currents.

I bet you could use an aluminum pop can of a smooth surface instead of the aluminum plate and nail.