For this activity, you will need a balloon, fluorescent light bulb and a dark room. In the dark room, rub the balloon onto a sweater or in someone's hair. Make sure to rub the balloon long enough to build up a lot of charge. Hold the charged area of the balloon close to the light bulb, gently touching the bulb. The electrons will move from the balloon to the bulb, causing small sparks to appear. Instruct students to experiment by charging the balloon and touching it to different areas of the light bulb. Discuss their findings.
This activity uses a piece of thread, pieces of dry, O-shaped cereal and a plastic comb. Tape one end of the thread to the edge of a table and tie a piece of cereal to the other end. Charge the comb by rubbing it on a sweater or brushing through someone's hair. Then, gently bring the comb near the cereal and observe as it swings toward the comb. Hold the comb still until the cereal jumps away by itself, then move the comb slowly toward the cereal again. This time it will move away from the comb. Discuss with students why the cereal changed direction. Explain that the once the cereal received the same negative charge as the comb, the objects were repelled.
Clear an area of your classroom large enough for students to move around on the floor. Divide students into pairs and give each group a balloon and an empty soda can. Tell students to lay the soda can on the floor on its side, then rub the balloon on their hair. Hold the can close to the balloon and slowly move it toward, then away from, the can. The can will follow the balloon. Let students experiment with how fast and far the can will roll. They may even race their cans to see whose will go the fastest. Explain to them that rubbing the balloon in their hair loads electrons onto the balloon. Those electrons attract the protons in the can, causing it to move.
Divide students into pairs. Each pair needs a piece of wool cloth, a piece of notebook paper and two or three flat pieces of metal, such as a sheet of aluminum foil or the bottom of an aluminum pie plate. One person will hold the paper still. The other person will rub the piece of wool on the paper for 45 seconds. Then he will place one piece of metal onto the center of the paper. Partner 1 will lift the paper off the surface while partner 2 touches the metal. This should create a spark. Students should record their findings in a notebook or onto an activity sheet, making note of different types of metals used, the length of time the wool was rubbed on the paper and the strength of the sparks.