Balloons

To have fun with balloons and to introduce children to think about different types of gases.

Balloons equal party, fun and celebrations.  Balloons are great to use with kids and I have used balloons a lot in my STEAM storytimes to demonstrate different concepts.  This session can be used for a birthday theme storytime or for any storytime session that involves celebrations.

I couldn't resist posting this photo of my son on his first birthday!

Science concepts

To blow up a balloon we usually use air.  Air is made up of gas that goes into the balloon. There are different ways to make this gas.

Experiment: 

Blowing up balloons with different gases.
Equipment 
600 ml bottle ¼ filled with vinegar;
Bicarb soda, funnel;
2 balloons;
spoon.

Blow up a balloon and talk about putting gas into the balloon (that comes out of your lungs when you breath).  Tie up balloon.

In another balloon put 2 table spoons of bicard soda (using funnel)
Carefully attach the neck of the balloon to the bottle without the bicarb soda spilling into the bottle.
Hold the balloon upright so the bicarb soda goes into the bottle and watch the solution fizz and the resulting gas fill up the balloon.  When the reaction has finished tie up the balloon.
You can view the demonstration here

Explain to kids how there are different types of gas and the gas in this balloon is carbon dioxide which is heavier then the air around us, including the original balloon that was blown up.  Demonstrate this by holding both balloons and dropping them together and watch how the experiment balloon falls faster.   Let the children have fun dropping the balloons together too.
 

Book suggestions:

 

 

Bang went another balloon – Keith Faulkner
Pip and Posy: The big balloon – Axel Scheffler
Seven More Sleeps - Margret Wild and Donna Rawlings
Balloonia – Audrey Wood
Ella and the Baloons in the sky – Danny Appleby
Wibbly pig has 10 balloons – Mick Inkpen

Craft Suggestions:

Make a birthday card with coloured paper balloons of different sizes; or
Cut out a hot air balloon and colour/decorate; or
Buy balloons, blow them up and stick paper to make animals

Shadows

Introducing children to the science of shadows

Children are fascinated with shadows and sometimes a little afraid.  There are funny videos on the internet of children trying to run away from their shadows. Shadows can amuse children for hours as the make different shapes with their hands and bodies.  This session is a great session to explain to children how shadows work. 

Preparation: 

Make a shadow box from a cardboard box and tissue paper. Find the instructions here.
You will also need a strong torch or a desk lamp.
Consider making up your own story and making shadow puppets to do with the story

Science concepts/ experiments:

Use a torch and a tall object and demonstrate the following:

• Shadows are caused by an object blocking the light
• The place where the light can’t pass is called a shadow. Objects don't need to be solid to cast a shadow, but they have to be translucent. Show a shadow cast by tissue paper, some sheer fabric or a piece of plastic
• Shadows move because the light rays change direction. Show them how shadows change, move direction, get longer and shorter, by changing the position of a light source

Find out more about shadows and why they change here

Book suggestions:

Foggy foggy forest - Nick Sharratt
Smartycat: shadows - Jeanette Rowe
Shadow - Robie Harris
Goodnight gorilla - Peggy Rathmann (point out the shadows in the pictures)
At the zoo - Roger Priddy

OR: Make up your own story with shadow puppets and the shadow box

Craft suggestions:

Make shadow puppets using paper cut outs and taping them to sticks.
Let the children use the lightbox with their puppets.

Other useful resources: 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/science/physical_processes/shadows/read/1/

Wind

To explain how wind can be measured and to have some fun blowing things around. 

There is nothing better than a lovely windy day that blows your hair and the leaves around everywhere.  It is difficult to explain to a child where the wind comes from.  It involves air and air pressure and it you would like to find out more you can do so here
However it is fun to see what types of things blow away and how we measure wind via the Beaufort scale

Science concepts/experiments:

Dancing the Beaufort Scale
I explained the Beaufort scale of wind strength using this handout.  I got all the children and adults to stand up to be trees in the garden and then we went though the Beaufort scale. The children were little trees and the adults large trees and as the scale went up parents and children made the corresponding movements. (Eg Moving fingers for leaves, arms for branches, whole body for swaying trees).  The children had lots of fun being trees.

Will it blow away? 
I gathered a few objects light and heavy and we experimented to see if they could be blown away using a hairdryer on low and then high settings. We used object such as cotton wool, leaves, pegs, stones, paperclips, fruit etc.

Ping pong ball balancing experiment
While I had the hairdryer out I thought that I would demonstrate the ping pong ball balancing experiment which is an experiment about balancing air pressure and gravity. All you need is a ping pong ball and a hairdryer. 
Turn the hairdryer on high and gently place the ball in the air stream.  What how it hovers in the air flow. This point is where the air pressure pushing up from the hairdryer 'wind' is equal to gravity.  You can find further explanations of this experiment here.

Book suggestions

 

 

The umbrella - Ingrid & Dieter Schubert.
Grandpa and Thomas and the green umbrella - Pamela Allen
A windy day - Sheila M. Bird
Flora's very windy day - by Jeanne Birdsall
The windy farm - Doug MacLeod & Craig Smith.
The windy day - Anna Milbourne
And red galoshes  - Glenda Millard
The wind blew - Pat Hutchins

Craft suggestions

Make your own kite.
Make a pinwheel.  Traditionally these use a split pin in the centre however we have judged them too dangerous for toddlers. Instead I used pipe cleaners to attach the cardboard pinwheel to a long icypole stick which is demonstrated here.   I also pre-punched the middle hole as I thought this would be too tricky for parents and kids.