Primary students
Cut out paper clowns are balanced on a piece of string and metal weights attached in different places to investigate how their positioning affects the balance of the clowns. This demonstrates how weights placed low down, below the balance point, increase stability and introduces ideas about centre of gravity.
Students investigate how the balance of a homemade spinning top (a cardboard disc with a pencil through it) is affected by placing weights at different intervals around the disc. Patterns can also be drawn on the top to see how they are affected by spinning it.
Small plastic syringes of varying volume are joined together by plastic tubing. The principles of pneumatics and hydraulics are discussed and demonstrated by using the syringes filled with air and then filled with water.
The principles of magnetism are demonstrated by moving animals made of pipe-cleaners (possibly with small magnets attached) through a maze drawn on card. The magnets are used underneath the maze to show that the magnets do not need to touch. Standing the maze on different surfaces such as books or tables provides more parameters to investigate.
Air pressures and aerodynamics can be studied using homemade paper helicopters. The size of the rotors and other variables can be varied and the effects studied.
Students make various structures using paper tubes, and the construction of a paper bridge is demonstrated.
The army shows how to construct a military radio and use it to communicate with a secret agent.
Small Lego robots are modified and traverse a small maze, students investigate the dynamics of the best maze-solving robot by trying alternative parts.
