Backyard Science Experiments

One advantage of self-employment is that you can set your own hours. Our grandson came to stay with us last week, and I gave myself lots of time off while he was here. One of our activities was backyard science experiments with water, and we learned a few things about science and videos, while having fun.

Experiment Book

My grandson, Dylan, is 12 years old, and will start middle school in September. He’s done experiments at school, so he was comfortable trying this one.

We found this experiment, Too Much Pressure, in Scienceworks: An Ontario Science Centre Book of Experiments. I bought the book long ago, when Dylan’s mother was in school!

Experiment Equipment

There were only a few pieces of equipment needed for this experiment:

• Drinking glass
• Water
• Sturdy, flat piece of cardboard

Experiment Steps

Things could get wet during this experiment, so try it outdoors, if possible, or over the kitchen sink.

1. Fill a glass to the brim, with no air or bubbles left on top
2. Next, slide a flat, dry piece  of sturdy cardboard over it.
3. Hold the cardboard in place, and turn the glass upside down.
4. Let go of the cardboard and see what happens!

If you did the experiment correctly, the cardboard should stay in place. It’s like magic!

How It Works

The cardboard stays in place because the air pressure that’s pushing up on the cardboard is greater than weight of the water that’s pushing down on the cardboard.

Note: I’m not a scientist, but that’s what the Scienceworks book told us. I’m sure that you could do a Google search, and find a more detailed explanation.

Backyard Science Experiments Video

Here’s the video, showing the 3 times that we tried the backyard science experiments. There’s lots to think about, when you’re doing an experiment, and someone is recording it!

What We Learned

Here are some of the things that we learned while trying our backyard water experiments.

• Obviously, we learned a bit about the power of air pressure.
• Sometimes, you can ignore the instructions. For example, Dylan didn’t hold the cardboard in place, when turning the glass upside down, but it stayed in place anyway.
• Sometimes you can’t ignore the instructions. For example, our third test failed, because we had soggy cardboard and/or the glass wasn’t completely full
• You shouldn’t turn away from the camera, when someone is recording your hands – that makes it hard to see what you’re doing
• I learned how to add a few new effects in Camtasia Studio. That’s the software I use to record and edit the Excel videos on my Contextures site.

So, get away from your desk for a while, and try something fun. You might learn a few unexpected things, and a break from work is good for you, every now and then.

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Backyard Science Experiments

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