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Atal Tinkering Labs ATL

Reverse Image Magnifying Glass experiment

Put the magnifying glass between the wall and the window About 10-30 cm (4 -12 inches). You will see the right distance will be in focus on the wall.   Most magnifying glasses are double-convex lenses and are used to make objects appear larger. This is accomplished by placing the lens close to the object to be viewed. In this way the light rays are bent toward the center of the lens. When these bent rays reach the eye they make the object appear much larger than it actually is. However, if the object is far enough away from the…

Spinning fluids in your ears Experiment

The principle of inertia, If an object is at rest, it will stay at rest until something forces it to budge, and if it’s moving, it will keep moving until ground to a halt. That’s why spinning makes you dizzy.   There are three Loop-shaped canals in your inner ear contain fluid and fine, hair-like sensors that help you keep your balance. Each one senses the movement of your head along different axis. Your ears sense motion by detecting the way tiny strands of hair lining the canals wave back and forth in this moving liquid, like water plants swaying…

Earthquake Epicenter Experiment

The epicenter is the point on the Earth’s surface that is directly above the hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or underground explosion originates.   Nearly everyone in California lives within 30 miles of an active fault that could cause a damaging earthquake. In fact, some 2,000 known faults criss-cross California, and scientists continue to discover new ones.   Earthquakes happen all the time Since 1994, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), California has experienced 1,172 earthquakes with a magnitude 4.0 or greater   • As the magnitude 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989 proved, sometimes the…

Moving Optical Illusions experiments

The parallel lines template must be printed onto a transparency sheet. The other images may be printed on paper. It’s important that you print everything at the same size for the motion effect to work properly. Any office store will print it on transparency for you.  

How to make SMOG experiment!

Smog is a mix of natural fog – tiny droplets of water in the air and carbon dioxide smoke from pollution. IT forms a thick, dirty, smelly atmosphere.   When I put the lighted paper in the jar, I made some of the water moisture inside the jar evaporate into water vapor.   The ice made a small amount of water vapor condense. It turned into droplets of water in the jar. This appears as a mist in the jar.   Warm damp air meets cold air. The cold air makes the moisture in the warm air condense into tiny…

Bird in a cage Experiment

We have very powerful brains. Our brains want to make sense of what they see, so they join images together to makes sense of them.   It’s optical illusion is called a thaumatrope, It is the beginning of animation as we know it, and on the surface it does seem to use the same concept. However, while both basically make use of fast changes of a frame or image to create a visual illusion, a thaumatrope is caused by images/light in different locations while in animations there are different images/light in the same location.  

Magic Marbles with help of inertia Experiment

Inertia is the way a body will stay still, or move, unless acted upon by any external force.   What happen? The marble that had been in rolling stops. And the one that had been still, now rolls.   The force of the rolling marble transfers to the other one. It stops the first and sets the second in motion.   Why did it happen? * Inertia is the way one object sets another object in motion * An object at rest tends to stay at rest. An object that is moving tends to keep moving in the same direction….

How to Shrink a Chip Bags Experiment

Why do they shrink? Well The shiny chip bags are made with a piece of aluminium foil sandwiched between two plastic films –   The aluminium prevents air entering the packet and keeps the chips fresher for longer. The plastic in the chip packet is made up of long polymer molecules that have been stretched so they are almost straight.   When the plastic is heated in the oven, the molecules that make up the plastic are energized so they start to vibrate faster. The molecules end up wiggly, making the plastic film thicker and shorter. And thus your chip…

Baked Ice Cream experiment

Even wonder how ice cream can be baked without completely melting? Try this.   The warm oven cooks the meringue, but not all the ice cream will melt.   Why: Cream of tartar is an acid. When it becomes moist, it releases carbon dioxide. This helps to aerate the meringue. When the egg whites are beaten, they too make small air spaces. Both the air and carbon dioxide are trapped in the beaten egg white. They act as an insulator. As the sugar cooks it hardens. It also acts as a insulator.   The insulation has small air spaces trapped…

Safe Total Solar Eclipse viewer

On Monday, August 21, 2017, all of North America will be treated to an eclipse of the sun. Anyone within the path of totality can see one of nature’s most awe-inspiring sights – a total solar eclipse. This path, where the moon will completely cover the sun and the sun’s tenuous atmosphere – the corona – can be seen, will stretch from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. Observers outside this path will still see a partial solar eclipse where the moon covers part of the sun’s disk.   Who Can See It? Lots of people! Everyone in the…

Gravity or Magnetic Hills and the science behind them

So what makes the car roll up the slope of a hill? Do these mystery spots really defy the laws of physics? “Gravity Hills” or “Magnetic Hills” are natural places where cars are put into neutral and seem to move uphill on a slightly sloping road, apparently defying the law of gravity. Typically, the stretch of road is rather short (50-90 m), only a few meters wide, and surrounded by a natural hill landscape, without nearby buildings.   That’s our spot, dead on.   There are several things that enable us to sense which way is up. The balance mechanism…

Detecting Counterfeit Money experiment

To develop a method for determining if U.S. currency is authentic or counterfeit.   Safety Precautions: Do only under adult supervision. Do not stare at the black light, as ultraviolet light can be harmful to the eyes.   Must have a dark room, place the various US bills under the black light. Observer the color of the plastic strip within each bill.   Explanation: All new bills within the United States (Expect for the one dollar bill) have recently been redesigned. Each contains a thin, narrow plastic strip embedded within the bill itself, which is only visible if held up…

SHATTERING A MARBLE Experiment

Safety Precautions: Perform under adult supervision. Wear safety goggles. Exercise caution when using a stove. The marble will be very hot for several minutes after it is placed in water.   Procedure: Place a marble in a frying pan and heat for 10 minutes on the stove. Using tongs, remove the marble from the pan and drop it into a cup of cold water. Allow to cool for several minutes, then remove the marble.   Explanation: As the marble is heated, it expands. When it is cooled, it contracts. If it contracts too rapidly, it will shatter. This is why…

SHRINKY DINK Experiment

Piece of clear polystyrene plastic. (Obtain from the top of Dannon yogurt container or salad container – will have a recycling code of “6”)   Oven , Permanent Marker and Cookie sheet   Procedure If using the top of a yogurt container, remove the colored strip from the edge. Otherwise cut out a square piece of plastic. Draw a design on the plastic with a permanent marker. If desired, punch a hole in the plastic with a hole puncher, so it may be attached to a key chain when finished. Place on a cookie sheet and put in the oven…

Solar Oven Pizza box Experiment

Depending on how hot the day is, and how directly the sunlight shines on the oven, the marshmallows will take 30 to 60 minutes to get squishy when you poke them.   Then, open the oven lid and place a piece of chocolate (about half the size of the graham cracker square) on top of each marshmallow. Place another graham cracker square on top of the chocolate and press down gently to squash the marshmallow.   Close the lid of the solar oven and let the Sun heat it up for a few minutes more, just to melt the chocolate…

8 Phases of the Moon experiment

According to NASA, the Moon travels a distance of 382,400 kilometers as it orbits around the Earth during its 29.53 day lunar cycle. Throughout its travels, the Moon waxes and wanes and even becomes invisible to us for a short period. Eight separate phases are recognized during the lunar cycle, and each of them can be enjoyed from the comfort of your own front porch.   NEW MOON (1st Phase) When the Moon is between the Earth and the Sun the side that is being lit is facing the Sun. We see its dark side, which means we are unable…

HYDROPHOBIC SAND aka Magic Sand Experiment

Procedure: Add some magic sand to water, cup or bowl. Clear or transparent cups allow you to see from the side as well from the top.   Explanation: The magic sand is an amazing substance that will not get wet in water. It forms spectacular formations underwater, and when the water is poured off, it is completely dry. One advertising slogan for this substance is “You cab bet it won’t get wet!”. Well that is true, but I found out the hard way at Science night one year, when you have 300 kids put their hands on the magic sand…

SHRINKING A STYROFOAM CUP EXPERIMENT

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS: Do only under adult supervision. Never operate a pressure cooker without safety release valve, and never operate a pressure cooker without a thorough knowledge of its operation. Never attempt to open a pressure cooker while it is hot. Improper use of the pressure cooker can results in serious injury.   PROCEDURE: Place about an inch of water in the pressure cooker, and place within a styrofoam cup open end down. If you want, you can draw a design on the cup. Replace the lid with the pressure relief valve and heat on the stove for 10 minutes. Remove…

POPCORN BUOYANCY EXPERIMENT

PROCEDURE: 1. Show them the container full of unpopped popcorn. 2. Lay the metal ball on top of the un-popped popcorn and explain that the metal ball will turn into a ping pong ball. 3. Shake the container gently. The metal ball will sink to the bottom, and the ping pong ball will rise to the top, making it look like the metal ball has transformed.   EXPLANATION Objects with a density lower than the fluid that they are submerged in will float and objects with a greater density will sink. In this set-up, the un-popped popcorn form a coarse…

TEA BAG ROCKET experiment

Materials Required a tea bag (I used Earl Grey) a plate a lighter scissors a room without a draft   Safety Considerations Because of the potential fire hazard, this demonstration should be performed by the instructor, not the students.   The tea bag will lift off almost vertically; however, if there are any drafts in the room it will change the path the rocket will take. Therefore, this experiment should be performed away from flammable materials, and students should be seated at an appropriate distance away from the experiment.   This cool experiment is a fun after dinner experiment with…

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