How far can you throw???

For our next science activity we are going to be making a mini trebuchet!

We will be releasing this activity on the Surrey Libraries Facebook page on Thursday 3rd September at 10.30am. 

For this activity you will need:

•  A piece of thick card
•  2 paper cups
•  Tape
•  A lolly stick
•  A milk bottle top
•  A battery
•  A small piece of paper
•  A pair of scissors
•  Double sided tape
•  A straw

For more information watch the short introduction video.

Follow Surrey Libraries on Facebook and Twitter for the latest information and don't forget to visit Science Club on the Surrey Libraries YouTube Channel

Spaghetti and Marshmallow Towers

                               

If you pick up a piece of spaghetti and have a look at it you will see that on its own it is not very strong. It is quite bendy, but it also breaks very easily. However if you pick up several pieces of spaghetti and try and bend them they become much stronger

Making a spaghetti and marshmallow tower is a really fun thing to try at home as all you need is a pack of spaghetti and a pack of marshmallows. You may even already have them in a cupboard somewhere, or if not you can easily pick them up next time you go shopping.

When you start to build your tower think about what shapes you are going to use to make your tower. What shapes do you think are strongest? Why don't you have a look at some of the structures you see around you. What shapes have been used to make them? You will want to make sure that your tower is strong and doesn't fall over or collapse. 

To start to make your tower what you need to do is take a marshmallow and push a piece of spaghetti into the middle. You can then push some extra pieces into the marshmallow to start to build your structure. You can build both upwards and out to build a strong structure.

Now this can get a bit messy so be careful

We hope that you have fun with this activity and remember that once you have finished you can always eat the marshmallows!  

The video tutorial for this activity is available to watch on the Surrey Libraries Facebook Page or the Surrey Libraries YouTube Channel

Bend or Break...

For our next science activity we are going to be making Spaghetti and Marshmallow Towers!

We will be releasing this activity on the Surrey Libraries Facebook page on Thursday 28th August at 10.30am. 

For this activity you are going to need:

• A pack of marshmallows
• A pack of dried spaghetti

For more information watch our short introduction video.

Follow Surrey Libraries on Facebook and Twitter for the latest information and don't forget to visit Science Club on the Surrey Libraries YouTube Channel

Blowing Bubbles

A bubble is made from a thin sheet of soapy water called a soap film. Inside the soap film, soap molecules line up on the inside and outside of the bubble with a layer of water between them. As the water in the bubble evaporates the bubble bursts.

For this activity we are going to be looking at some of the different things that you may have at home that you can use to make some extra large bubbles. You may want to try and do outside if you can!

The first thing that we are going to do is make our bubble mixture, so we are going to add some washing up liquid to our bowl of water.

There are lots of different things that you have at home that you can use to make bubbles. If you have pipe cleaners at home you can bend these into different shapes to make bubble wands. 

You may have a paper cup. If you cut the end of the cup off you can use this to make bubbles

You can thread string through a straw and this will make a flexible bubble wand. You can experiment with different lengths of string and see how big you can make your bubbles

You can also try and make some 3D structures by taping some straws together and using these to make bubbles.

To make longer lasting bubbles, try adding glycerol. Glycerol holds onto the water in the soap film for longer so can help make longer lasting bubbles!

The video tutorial for this activity is available on the Surrey Libraries Facebook Page or the Surrey Libraries YouTube Channel

Bubble Fun

For our next science activity we are going to be experimenting with bubbles!

We will be releasing this activity on the Surrey Libraries Facebook page on Thursday 20th August at 10.30am. 

For this activity, to make your bubbles, you are going to need:

• A bowl of water
• Washing up liquid

To make your bubble wands you may like to collect:

• Straws
• String
• Pipe Cleaners
• Paper Cups
• Tape
• Scissors

For more information watch our short introduction video.

Follow Surrey Libraries on Facebook and Twitter for the latest information and don't forget to visit Science Club on the Surrey Libraries YouTube Channel

Make a Colour Spinner

White light consists of 7 colours. If you know the colours in a rainbow you will know that they are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. We are going to be making a colour spinner that demonstrates the fact that white light is made from the 7 colours found in a rainbow!

The first thing you are going to need to do is draw a circle on your piece of card. You will then need to cut this out and divide it into 7 sections.

You will then need to colour each section one of the 7 colours of the rainbow - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet

The last thing that you need to do is make 2 holes at the centre of the circle. You are going to thread a length of string through these holes and tie the two ends together.

You are now ready to wind up the colour spinner and let it go. When it starts to spin you should see that the colours start to mix together and if you can get your spinner to go fast enough the colours should appear white. 

Once you have experimented with the 7 colours in the rainbow, why not try making other colour spinners using different patterns, or colours and see what happens...

The video tutorial for this activity is available on Surrey Libraries Facebook Page or Surrey Libraries YouTube Channel.

Can you see a rainbow???

For our next science activity we are going to be making colour spinners!

We will be releasing this activity on the Surrey Libraries Facebook page on Thursday 13th August at 10.30am. 

For this activity you will need:

• Card
• Colouring pens/ pencils/ crayons
• Scissors
• Pen/ Pencil
• Ruler
• String/ Wool/ Thread
• Something round to draw around

Click here to view the video explaining the materials you need.

Follow Surrey Libraries on Facebook and Twitter for the latest information and don't forget to visit Science Club on the Surrey Libraries YouTube Channel

Make a Solar Oven

The Sun is the largest source of energy for the Earth. More solar energy hits the planet in one day than could be used in 27 years. In areas without electricity solar ovens could be a great option to cook food. Solar ovens are low cost, reduce carbon emissions and can reach temperatures between 120^◦C and 175^◦C.

To make your model solar oven, the first thing that you need to do is get your shallow cardboard box and draw a square on the top of your box about 4cm away from the edge. With the front of the box facing you, cut along 3 sides of the square, leaving the last edge as a hinge.

Cover the inside of the cardboard box and the inside of the cardboard flap with silver foil 

Put a piece of black paper on the bottom of the box, and cover the hole in the top of the box with cling film. Make sure that you tape the cling film in place. You may need some help with this part!

Your solar oven is now ready. You can use your wooden skewer to prop the lid open. 

Why not try putting something inside and seeing what happens...

You could start with something that melts easily like cheese or chocolate as your solar oven will take longer to heat things up than a regular oven.

The video tutorial for this activity is available on the Surrey Libraries Facebook Page or the Surrey Libraries YouTube Channel

Feel the Heat!!!

For our next science activity we are going to be making a model solar oven!

We will be releasing this activity on the Surrey Libraries Facebook page on Thursday 6th August at 10.30am.

For this activity you are going to need:

• A shallow cardboard box (like a pizza box)
• Silver Foil
• Cling Film
• Black Paper
• A Ruler
• A pen or pencil
• A pair of scissors
• Tape
• A Wooden Skewer

For more information please watch this short introduction video. 

Follow Surrey Libraries on Facebook and Twitter for the latest information and don't forget to visit Science Club on the