Rubbing a foam plate with a piece of wool creates a surprisingly powerful static electric charge that may be stored and transferred. Tape a foam cup upside-down to the inside of a metal pie tin. Rub a foam plate with wool for a full minute to build up a charge, then set the metal pan on top of it. Tap your finger to the metal and you may feel a spark. Remove the tin by touching only the cup taped to it. The tin has taken on the charge from the plate. Turn out the lights and discharge the electricity by touching the pan. A spark of electricity will be visible.
A homemade battery is one way to teach children how electricity is stored for later use. Start with a lemon you have rolled a few times on a table to release its juices. Make two small, parallel slits 2 cm apart in the lemon skin. Make a nail hole in a small piece of copper and a small piece of zinc, then insert the other end of each strip into the slits in the lemon. Loop a wire lead through the hole in the copper and another through the hole in the zinc. Connect one end of each lead to a galvanometer, then touch the other ends of the leads to each other. The galvanometer will register the power generated by the lemon battery.
Static electricity turns a pile of glitter into a dancing glitter circus. Lay a sheet of construction paper on a table and place one tuna can at each corner. Set a piece of clear acrylic plastic on top of the cans and scatter glitter on the paper beneath it. Rub the acrylic with a piece of wool for a full minute to get a good charge going, and watch the glitter come to life as it is attracted to the electricity you are creating.
Two big balloons, charged up with electricity, are the makings of a fun experiment. Blow up the balloons, then put a wool sock on your hand and rub it all over them. This charges the balloons with electricity that is stored up and waiting to come out. Tie string around the end of each balloon. Have a friend hold one while you hold the other, letting them dangle from their strings. Try to slowly bring the two of them together. The electricity you have stored actually pushes the balloons apart from each other.