Expensive stereo equipment is not necessary to make music louder; try using a balloon. According to Science Kids, the air molecules inside balloons amplify sound. To create this simple experiment, have students blow up balloons. Students can use a hand-held balloon pump. Hold the balloon up to the ear and tap lightly on the opposite side. What happens to the sound? Try amplifying the sound of music, people talking or the sound of a bell. Encourage students to take the experiment home to show their parents what they learned about the world around them.
This fun, messy project helps students create their own putty to play with rather than purchasing putty from the stores. For this experiment, students need one plastic food container, one plastic film canister, PVA glue, an eyedropper, a stirring stick, water and borax, according to Science Kids. In the large container, fill the bottom with a layer of PVA glue. Add three to four full eyedroppers of water to the glue. Add two to three drops of food coloring to the glue mixture. Add one spoonful of borax. Stir the mixture and add it to the film canister for storage.
Encourage kids to help mom and dad with the shopping list with this paper towel test. Every mom and dad wants a roll of paper towels that is not only affordable but durable. Help students set up a testing ground to determine which paper towels are strongest, suggests Science-Ideas.com. In the classroom, set up two clotheslines. The clotheslines should be parallel to one another at table height. Suspend different brands of paper towels, horizontally between the two clotheslines. Stack wooden or plastic blocks on the paper towels. How many blocks does each brand hold before tearing? Repeat the experiment with wet towels. Now, kids can go home and recommend the best paper towel brand to their parents.
What group of kids does not love getting a little dirty from time to time? For this experiment, have kids develop a hypothesis about where a snail will move faster -- on sidewalk or in dirt -- suggests Science-Ideas.com. Purchase some garden snails from an animal shop. Allow students to race the snails on different surfaces. Where do snails move more quickly? Why? Teach students about the snails' body structure. Does this help explain why the snails move better in one area versus another?