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

Ready to Launch???

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

We will be releasing this activity on the Surrey Libraries Facebook page on Thursday 4th June at 10.30am.

For this activity you will need to collect some materials:

1. 2 Toilet Roll Tubes
2. Tape
3. Scissors
4. 2 Elastic Bands
5. A Straw or Pencil

For more information watch this short 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

Build a Boat

Building a boat can be a great engineering challenge to try either on your own or in a group. You can make it out of anything that you want or can find at home. Recycled materials can be a good place to start. You can make your boat big or small and use whatever you like to build it, but before you start you might want to test to see if the things you want to use are going to float...

When you put something in the water there are two forces acting on it. The weight of it forces it down while the force of the water forces it up. If the weight is less than or equal to the force of the water then the object will float. It the weight is more than the force of the water the object will sink. If you want to know more about why objects float or sink have a look at the BBC Bitesize Website.

So have a look and see what materials you can find. I have added an example of a boat made from cardboard and silver foil but use your imagination to see what you can do...

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

What floats your boat???

You will need some recycled materials that you can find at home, things like cardboard boxes, plastic packaging, toilet rolls/ kitchen roll tubes or anything that you think will be useful for building a boat. You might also want to have a look and see if you can use things like silver foil or if you have things at home like paper plates, lolly sticks or other materials that you can use.

You are also going to want to collect some tape or glue and a pair of scissors to help you make your boat

For more information watch a short introduction film.

This activity will be released on Thursday 28th May at 10:30am on Surrey Libraries Facebook page.

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

Make a volcano!

Volcanoes are an opening in the surface of the Earth where gas, hot magma and ash can escape. The name for Volcanoes comes from the name of the Roman God Vulcan who was the god of fire. The surface of the Earth is made up of “tectonic plates”. These fit together like jigsaw puzzle pieces and volcanoes can form at the meeting points. Magma is the name given to hot liquid rock inside a volcano. Once it leaves the volcano, it’s known as lava. Lava can reach over 1000°C and has the potential to burn everything in its path!  

To make your volcano the first thing that you need to do is get your thick piece of cardboard. This is going to be the base of your volcano. You then need to get your yogurt pot and tape this to the cardboard base.

You are now going to build the volcano around the pot but making sure that you leave an opening at the top. Now there are a couple of different ways that you can make your volcano. You can either use clay (like air dry clay/ modelling clay) to build up the shape of your volcano. The other option is to use Papier Mache (PVA glue and paper). Either option will work

Once you have finished making your volcano you will need to leave it to dry and that will probably be overnight. When it is dry you can decorate it if you would like to, but it will be ready to set up your volcanic eruption. You may need an adult to help with this!

To do this you first need to add vinegar into the centre of your volcano. You are then going to add a spoonful of bicarbonate of soda. 

You should see a reaction start to happen as soon as you add the bicarbonate of soda. You should see lots of bubbles and foam rising up out of the top of the volcano. This is caused because when you mix vinegar is an acid and bicarbonate of soda is an alkali (have a look at our first science session on indicators). When we mix them together we get a reaction and carbon dioxide bubbles are formed which rise to the top and bubble out of the top of your volcano.

For more information on this activity have a look at the video tutorial on the Surrey Libraries Facebook Page or the Surrey Libraries YouTube Channel

Get ready to explode!!

For our next science activity we are going to be learning about Volcanoes and demonstrating a volcanic eruption!

We will be releasing this activity on the Surrey Libraries Facebook page on Thursday 21st May at 10.30am. 

You can watch a short film explaining what you need for this activity!

For this activity you will need to collect a few things:

Everyone will need:

•  A piece of thick cardboard for the base of your volcano
• Either a yoghurt pot or a plastic bottle that has been cut down, or something similar to be the centre of your volcano
• Some tape

To explode your volcano you will need:

• Vinegar
• Bicarbonate of Soda

There are some different ways to make your volcano depending on what you have available so you will either need:

• Modelling clay/ air dry clay or something similar or
• Glue and paper for Papier Mache

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

DNA Modelling

DNA is inside everyone. It is the instruction book that makes sure we get put together correctly. Every person, animal and plant comes with their own instruction book hidden inside of them and that is their DNA. Where as the normal English alphabet has 26 letters, DNA is made up of only 4 letters and these are A, T, C and G. These DNA letters are also paired together so that A is paired with T and C is paired with G.

To make your DNA models you may need help from an adult as we will be using cocktail sticks which are sharp.

The first thing you will want to do is get your fruit pastels, midget gems, coloured sweets etc. You need to divide them into four different colours so that one colour will be used for each letter, one for A, T, C and G. You may like to label each of the sweet colours so that you don't forget. You then need to get a cocktail stick and on one side put your A and the other side your T. On another cocktail stick put a C on one side and a G on the other. Repeat this on a few cocktail sticks. 

You then want to get two of your strawberry shoelaces or similar sweets. You need to push one end of the cocktail stick into one of the shoelaces and the other end of the cocktail stick into the second shoelace. Repeat this down the length of the shoelaces.

When you have finished adding you DNA pairs down the length of the shoelaces you should then be able to twirl the DNA to show the double helix structure.

To see the video tutorial for this activity, visit the Surrey Libraries Facebook Page or the Surrey Libraries YouTube Channel. I hope you have fun making (and eating) your DNA models!