Most public schools have a static-electricity generator, which is a metal ball that emits the electricity through its surface, or some other comparable device. However, your students can perform this experiment at home, using materials as simple as your socks and a fluffy carpeted floor. First, explain how static electricity builds a charge through friction and illustrate this by rubbing your hand on a balloon or skidding your stocking feet across a carpeted floor, causing the balloon to stick to your hand and building up a charge for you to shock one of your students. Finally, use static to make a student's hair stand on end by rubbing a balloon on her head or having her touch her hands to a static generator.
Liquid nitrogen is a material available to most science classrooms, but should be handled by an authority because it has potential dangers to children. To show the properties of liquid nitrogen and illustrate solids, liquids, and gases, you merely have to subject different materials to liquid nitrogen and observe the effect with your students. Try freezing a flower, balloon, and water in the nitrogen to your students' amazement.
A baking soda volcano is a simple way to illustrate how different chemicals interact with each other in an entertaining and fun way. Most baking soda volcanoes are constructed by molding dough around a two liter plastic soda bottle to resemble a volcano mound. Fill the bottle with red food coloring and water to make the lava. Next, pour baking soda followed by vinegar into the volcano in order to start the bubbling eruption.
For the Cartesian diver experiment, you will need a ketchup packet that will barely float in a two liter bottle of soda. Fill the soda bottle mostly with water, leaving airspace in the bottle to squeeze it when the cap is still on. You will be able to use the relationship between the pressure in the bottle and the buoyancy of the packet to make the packet rise and fall on command when you squeeze the bottle, illustrating a simple concept in a fun way for your students.