Building Bridges

Building a bridge can be a really fun activity that you can do either on your own or in a group. You can make one out of recycled materials or anything that you can find. You may like to look at some pictures for inspiration or make it from your own design.

We are going to be designing a bridge that is at least 30cm/12inches long. This is the length of a large school ruler or the length of the long side of a piece of A4 piece of paper. You will want to build it over a gap, there may be one at home you can use or you may be able to design one.

Bridges support weight both horizontally and vertically so you will need to think about this or your bridge may sag or buckle. 

You will also want to think about what shapes you are using to design your bridge. Some shapes are stronger than others. What shape do you think is the strongest? You may like to experiment with some different shapes and see what happens...

If you take 3 pieces of paper and fold 1 into a circular column, one into a triangle column and one into a square column and test to see which one holds the most books...

You may want to use these results to help you build your bridge...

I hope you have fun with this activity. To see the video tutorial for this activity visit the Surrey Libraries Facebook Page or the Surrey Libraries YouTube Channel

Can You Build It???

For our next science session we are going to be building a bridge!

To do this you are going to need to collect a few things:

You can use whatever you want or have available to build your bridge. Your bridge will need to be at least 30cm/ 12inches long. You may like to collect some recycled materials such as - cardboard boxes, toilet roll/ kitchen roll tubes, plastic packaging, or whatever you can find. You will also need a pair of scissors and tape or glue to help put your bridge together and you may want to use craft materials such as lolly sticks, string or other useful things...

For more information watch this short introduction film.

This activity will be released on Thursday 25th June at 10:30am on Surrey Libraries Facebook page.

Follow Surrey Libraries on Facebook and Twitter for more information and do not forget to visit Science Club on the Surrey Libraries YouTube Channel

Paper Chromatography

Paper Chromatography can be used to separate out different things. When you mix different colours together you can get a wide range of colours but by using paper chromatography, we can separate out the different pigments that were used to make them. 

The first thing you need to do is get a piece of kitchen roll and using a ruler and a pencil draw a line near the bottom. You are using a pencil because pencil will not move. You draw the line so that you know your starting point. You can then get your felt tip pens and draw some big spots of colour at even distances along the line

You are then going to dip the kitchen roll into a bowl of water. You just want the bottom of the kitchen roll to touch the water. You don’t want to soak or drop the kitchen roll.  You should see that the water starts to move up the length of the kitchen roll and as it does the ink starts to move with it. Now as the ink moves you will see that it starts to separate out as the different pigments in the ink move at different speeds. 

Why don’t you experiment with different colours and patterns. You will see that some colours separate out more than others and some colours move faster than others

To see the video tutorial for this activity, visit the Surrey Libraries Facebook Page or the Surrey Libraries YouTube Channel.

What's Your Favourite Colour???

For our next science activity we will be learning about paper chromatography!

We will be releasing this activity on the Surrey Libraries Facebook page on Thursday 18th June at 10.30am. 

For this activity you will need:

• Some kitchen roll
• Some felt tip pens
• A ruler
• A pencil
• A bowl of water
  

For more information see our preparation 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

Seed Distribution

When plants make seeds they need to spread so that they have the best chance of growing. There are 5 main ways that seeds can be distributed. These are by water, such as coconuts that can float away on the water to a new place to grow. By bursting like poppy seeds. By animals like burr seeds that attach themselves to animal and drop off later. By being eaten like tomato or strawberry seeds and by the wind like dandelion seeds.

For this science activity we are focussing on an example of seed distribution by the wind by making a model helicopter seed. To do this all you will need is a piece of paper and a pair of scissors but if you find it easier you can download and print this template

You will need a piece of paper about 1/3 the size of a piece of an A4 sheet of paper. You need to make a cut, up the middle, almost to halfway up the longest half of the rectangle. We are then going to make two small cuts just below halfway approximately 1/3 of the way in towards the middle on each long side

We are then going to fold the top two pieces in opposite directions while we fold the bottom pieces in the same direction

You now have a helicopter seed model. If you hold it up and let it go you will see it fly. Why not make some different sizes and see what differences you can see...

To see the video tutorial for this activity, visit the Surrey Libraries Facebook Page or the Surrey Libraries YouTube Channel.

 

Watch them fly...

For our next science activity we will be learning about seed distribution!

We will be releasing this activity on the Surrey Libraries Facebook page on Thursday 11th June at 10.30am. 

For this activity all you will need is a piece of paper and a pair of scissors. Hopefully this will be quite easy for you to find at home.

For more information watch this short introduction clip!

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 Ball Launcher

To make a ball launcher we will be using some items that you will probably find lying around at home. The ball launcher converts potential energy, that you add to the launcher when you pull back on it, into kinetic energy, when it is released.

The first thing that you need to do is collect your 2 toilet roll tubes and see if they fit inside each other. If they do you can skip the first step. If they don't, take one of your toilet roll tubes, cut it down the middle and tape it back together again so that it is thinner and can fit inside the other tube

Make 2 holes in the thinner tube on opposite sides, approximately 1cm in from the end. Thread your straw or pencil through both holes

On the thicker tube cut 2 slits approximately 1cm deep and 1cm apart and repeat this on the opposite side of the tube. Take your elastic bands and thread one through the slits on each side of the tube:

Thread the thinner tube inside the thicker tube and pull the elastic bands over the straw/ pencil:

You are now ready to test your ball launcher

Why not test some different things. What happens when you try shooting different balls with your launcher? Does a heavier or lighter ball make a difference? You could possibly try a cotton wool ball, paper ball or ping pong ball. 

Remember DO NOT fire your ball launcher at anyone

To see the video tutorial for this activity, visit the Surrey Libraries Facebook Page or the Surrey Libraries YouTube Channel.

Follow Surrey Libraries on Facebook and Twitter for the latest information