The gravitational pull of a black hole is believed to be so great that nothing in its gravitational field can escape. The black hole gets its name because scientists believe that even light can't escape. A model of a black hole can be created from a rubber sheet, a picture frame, a handful of marbles, and a medium size stone. The student stretches the rubber sheet lightly in a frame, and then drops a stone in the middle. The goal of the experiment is to roll marbles from one side of the frame to the other without letting it become trapped in the funnel-shaped vortex created by the stone's weight. Some marbles can roll by the black hole, if they are not too close. However, when particles, which are represented by the marbles, get too close they cannot escape or pass by the black hole without being sucked in.
Another project for middle-school students involves making a detailed presentation of the star's life cycle. A star has a predictable life cycle, based on the mass of the star. Students should be able to research the life cycle, present pictures of each stage, and describe the quantum events taking place in the star during each stage. The final stage of the star is the black hole. This project gives students the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of stars and physics in addition to talking about black holes.
A black hole is a unique phenomenon, and brings with it into the stellar community a unique set of behaviors. The gravitational fields are so strong that scientists debate whether or not black holes can warp and bend light, time and space itself. These properties, and many other unanswered questions can make up the basis of a thorough and interesting project on black holes and how they might affect our universe.
Telescopes locate stellar bodies by the light the astral bodies give off. Stars create light, and other planetary bodies reflect light. Therefore, we can see these bodies with our telescopes. However, a black hole, by definition, pulls in all light that passes nearby. Therefore it's impossible to "look at" a black hole. An interesting experiment involves a report, and graphic presentation on how black holes "bend" light that passes by them, and how scientists use this phenomenon to locate where they believe black holes exist. A second part of the project involves reporting on the techniques scientist use to test and verify the hypothesized location of a black hole.