Making Parachutes

 

Parachutes are used to slow down an object falling to the ground. There are 2 forces acting upon the parachute – gravity and air resistance. Gravity is the force that is pulling the object down to the ground. Air resistance slows the parachute down so that the object can land slowly. It is affected by the size and material of the parachute.

We are going to make some parachutes and then test them to see what we think makes the best parachute. 

The first thing that we are going to do is make the bottom for the parachute. We are going to use a paper cup and make 4 holes at equal distances around the edge.  

We are then going to cut 4 pieces of string and tie these in place through the holes 

You next need to decide what material you want to use for your parachute. I have chosen fabric for this example. Lay your material out flat and put your paper cup in the centre. Pull your strings out towards the 4 corners and tape them in place

Your parachute is now ready to test. You can test it by dropping it and seeing how much it slows the paper cup down. You will probably want to go outside to test your parachute.

Once you have made one parachute you can make some other parachutes to test other materials and see what works the best. You may like to try tissue paper, and plastic carrier bags or see what other things you have at home that may work well.

You could also try experimenting with different size and shapes of parachutes and see how this affects the speed the paper cup falls, or you could try dropping the parachute from different heights (you may need an adult to help with that).

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

Watch them fall!!!

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

We will be releasing this activity on the Surrey Libraries Facebook page on Thursday 25th February at 4:30pm. 

For this activity you will need:

• Paper Cups
• Scissors
• String/ Wool
• Tape
• Tissue Paper
• A Plastic Bag
• Fabric

For more information 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 Surrey Libraries YouTube Channel 

Make a Table Football Game

You may need an adult to help you with some parts of this activity!

The first thing that we are going to do is make some marks where we want the rods for the players to go through the cardboard box. The model that we are going to make will have 2 rows of players for each team, so you will want to have 4 holes on each side evenly spaced along the side of the box. 

You are going to need to cut a hole in centre of each end of the box to be your goal. You may want to draw this first so that you know how big you want it to be. It needs to be big enough for your ball to fit through. If you want to add a net only cut the hole along 3 of the sides, leave it attached along the bottom edge.

You can now add your net by stretching and taping a piece of net over the three sides of the hole and onto the bottom of the cut out piece from the side of the box.

You are then going to want to push a wooden skewer through the holes along the sides of the box. The ends are sharp so you could use blue tack to cover the sharp end, and to give you a handle to hold or get an adult to trim them for you.

You can now use the lolly stick to become the players and attach them to the skewers. You will need to plan how you want to attach them as if they are too low they will not be able to swing as they will keep hitting the base, and if they are too high they will not be able to reach the ball. When you think you have them positioned at the correct height you can attach them to the skewer with tape 

If you find that you need to make some adjustments, you can always remove the tape and try again… 

You can decorate your football table and your players if you would like to

You can also experiment with different ball and see how this affects your game. You might like to try a marble, pom pom and ball of paper

If you can find a larger box than a shoe box you may like to experiment with adding more rods of players...

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

A Beautiful Game...

For our next science activity we are going to be making a mini table football game!

We will be releasing this activity on the Surrey Libraries Facebook page on Thursday 18th February at 4:30pm. 

For this activity you will need:

• A show box or similar sized cardboard box
• Wooden skewers
• Lolly sticks
• A pen or pencil
• Scissors
• Tape
• A marble
• Some netting from fruit packaging 

You may also like to collect some colouring pens/ pencils or other things to decorate your finished table football game

For more information 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 Surrey Libraries YouTube Channel 

Make a Periscope

A periscope allows you to see around corners or over walls. It has two mirrors inside that are at 45 degree angles that reflect the light twice.

To make the periscope the first thing that you need to do is cut out the periscope template from a piece of A4 card. 

You next want to add your mirrors to the periscope template. The mirrors will need to be approximately 5cm square. You can either use silver mirror card or if you have them you can use craft mirrors.

Using a ruler you can now use it to fold along the dotted lines on the periscope template. By using the ruler it helps to keep your fold lines straight.

You can now add glue to the overlap tabs and start to put the periscope together. 

Your periscope is now ready to test!

We see objects when the light coming from it enters the eye. Light may have been made by the object or may have bounced off of it allowing us to see it. Light travels in straight lines which is why you normally have to look at something to see it, but if you have a periscope you are able to look at objects that are around corners or over walls 

The way the periscope works is that there are two mirrors inside that are both at 45degree angles. This means that light travels into the periscope, meets the first mirror, bounces onto the second mirror and then reaches your eye, allowing you to see an object.

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

What's around the corner???

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

We will be releasing this activity on the Surrey Libraries Facebook page on Thursday 11th February at 4:30pm. 

For this activity you will need:

• Scissors
• Glue
• A Ruler
• Silver Mirror Card

You will also need to print this template onto a piece of A4 card. 

You could also use 5cm square craft mirrors instead of mirror card if you would prefer to.

For more information 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 Surrey Libraries YouTube Channel

Make a Stethoscope

 Stethoscopes are used by doctors to listen to a person’s heart. The heart is a muscle that sits in your chest and works as a really powerful pump. It pumps all of the blood around your body  

The first thing that you are going to do is roll your piece of card into a cone. You are then going to tape the cone so that it stays together and trim the bottom of the cone so that it is flat.

The next thing you are going to do is tape your cone to your kitchen roll tube 

You can now use your stethoscope. If you put the funnel end of the stethoscope to the chest of a friend, you should be able to hear their heartbeat. If you have a watch you can count how many beats there are in a minute. 

You could also compare how many times your hear beats in a minute when you have been sitting down compared to after you have done some exercise. If you do something, like 10 star jumps, or running on the spot for a minute before measuring your heart rate, does it beat more or less than if you have been sitting down for a while?

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