Invention & Imagination Club

Are you ready to use your imagination and have lots of fun? You've come to the right place! Each week, we will explore a new activity/experiment you can complete at home.

Some materials are needed for this club's activities. A full list of all supplies is below:

In this STEM activity, you will use household items to create five famous towers.

SUPPLIES

• Famous Towers Handout

You can use a lot of different types of items for this challenge. Here are some ideas:

• Popsicle sticks or toothpicks

• Straws

• Spaghetti (dry)

• Cups

• Newspaper or cardboard

• Marshmallows

• LEGO blocks or other blocks

• String or tape

DIRECTIONS

A tower is a building that is taller than its length and width. You have probably built towers before, but have you ever wondered why some towers are stronger or taller than others? In this challenge, you will create five towers that are different shapes and use different materials. Check out the handout for photos of each famous tower.

1. For each tower, copy the design of the tower as best you can.

2. After you build the tower, ask yourself: what part of the design made your tower stronger?

3. After you are finished, test each tower to see which one will knock over when you blow it or push it lightly. What can you do to make it stronger?

4. Design your own tower. Try to build a stronger or taller tower using what you learned from the challenge. Draw the tower on a piece of paper before building it, just like real engineers.

5. We want to see your work! Send pictures of your towers to partners@covington.kyschools.us.

In this STEM activity, you will build your own catapult using craft sticks.

SUPPLIES

• 10 jumbo craft sticks/popsicle sticks

• 5 rubber bands

• Plastic spoon

• Marshmallows, erasers, pom poms or other small objects

• Build a Catapult Handout (below)

• Catapult Log Handout (below)

• Measuring tape

DIRECTIONS

1. Take 8 craft sticks/popsicle sticks and stack them on top of one another.

2. Wrap a rubber band around each end of your stack. See step 1 on the handout.

3. Take another one of your sticks and push it through the stack just below the top stick. See step 2 on the handout. Click HERE for a video of how to do this.

4. Flip your stack over so that the sticks that you just pushed through is on the bottom of the stack.

5. Put a second stick on top of your stack and wrap a rubber band around the bottom of the 2 sticks. See step 3 on the handout.

6. Place your spoon, facing up, on top of the stick that is on top. Wrap a rubber band around the bottom to attach the spoon to the stack and another rubber band around the top. See step 4 on the handout.

7. Push the stack of sticks towards the ends connected by the rubber bands.

Your catapult is complete! Now try it out:

1. Hold a marshmallow (or other small object) in the scoop of the spoon. Press down on the spoon and then let go. Watch your marshmallow shoot into the sky!

2. Try shooting each of your small objects from your catapult to see which one goes the farthest. Use the Catapult Log Handout to record the distances.

3. Try designing a different catapult using the same materials. Test out the number of sticks used in the stack--what happens if you use 6 or 10 instead of 8?

4. Try making 2-3 different catapults out of different materials. See which one works better. Click HERE to learn how to make a LEGO catapult. Click HERE to learn how to make a toothpick catapult.

QUESTIONS

1. A catapult is a simple machine. What type of machine is it?

2. What other examples of levers can you think of?

3. How does a lever work?

4. Which item will go the farthest? Why do you think that item will go the farthest? Come up with a hypothesis (a guess).

5. Try firing different objects. Which item worked the best?

6. Did any objects not work at all? Why?

DIRECTIONS

1. Cut your paper towel into five strips (long pieces). See step 1 in the handout.

2. Use your black marker to color the center of each strip of paper towel (about the size of a quarter or 1 inch). See step 2 in the handout.

3. Put a small amount of water in the bottom of each of your five cups (about 1 inch of water). See step 3 in the handout.

4. Fold each of your five strips of paper towel in half with the part that you colored at the fold.

5. Put one piece of paper towel in each cup with the colored center in the water. Let the ends of the strips hang over the sides of the cups. See step 4 in the handout.

6. Watch what happens!

7. Let the paper towels stay in the cups for a few minutes.

8. Then, take them out and lay them flat on a piece of paper to dry. See step 5 in the handout.

9. Look at your paper towels. What colors is black ink made of?

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. What did you think was going to happen when you put the paper towel in the cup of water?

2. What happened?

3. What surprised you?

4. Why do you think that the water separated the colors on the paper towel?

5. How could this process be useful?

6. Try this same experiment with other marker colors or other types of liquid.

7. Try this experiment with a permanent marker (like a Sharpie) instead of a washable marker. Once you have colored the paper towel with the marker, add a few drops of rubbing alcohol.

DIRECTIONS

1. To make a polymer, first, get out 2 cups.

2. In your first cup, mix 1 teaspoon of Borax with 2 tablespoons of warm water. Stir until the Borax is part of the water (dissolved).

3. (Note: wash your hands after using Borax)

4. In your second cup, mix 2 tablespoons of white glue with 2 teaspoons of cornstarch. Add 2 -3 drops of food coloring and stir together.

5. Add your mixture from the first cup (dissolved Borax) to the second cup (glue/cornstarch). Stir together.

6. Once the mixture becomes impossible to stir, take it out of the cup and mix it together with your hands (like a pizza dough). After mixing, roll it between your palms to make a ball. Make sure to keep pushing hard. (Note: this will be messy, and that’s the fun part!)

7. Your ball should be ready to bounce!

8. Try the activity again using more or less of one ingredient. For example, add more glue to see if your ball is bouncier.

QUESTIONS

1. What did you think would happen when you mixed your first cup with your second cup?

2. Why do you think the ball bounces? (The ball bounces because the polymer chain changes shape when it hits the floor, which makes it bouncy.)

3. Does it bounce better on carpets or hard surfaces?

4. What other polymers can you think of that are bouncy and stretchy? What do they have in common?

5. Try a different experiment using a different kind of polymer – a gummy bear! In this experiment, you will see what happens to gummy bears when you mix it with water. Click HERE for the activity.

STEPS

1. Set your cookie sheet out on a table and place your jar in the middle of it. This will help with anything that may spill.

2. Measure about 1⁄4 cup of corn syrup and pour it into the jar.

3. Measure about 1⁄2 cup of water and add it to your jar.

4. Add 3 drops of food coloring.

5. Measure 1⁄4 cup of oil and add it to the jar. If your jar is not very full, you can add another 1⁄4 cup of oil. Leave a little room at the top of your jar.

6. Add 1 Alka Seltzer tab to your jar. Watch what happens! It creates bubbles like a lava lamp.

7. Put the top back on your jar.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. Use different liquids to make another jar. Try using honey, light corn syrup, dish soap, olive oil, rubbing alcohol and water. Which liquids are denser and go to the bottom of the jar and which are less dense and stay near the top of the jar?

2. Try making a rainbow density jar. Click HERE for step-by-step directions.

3. What do you think will happen when you add the different liquids to the jar? What is your hypothesis (guess)?

4. What happens when you add liquids to your jar?

5. Why do you think the liquids are separating and becoming layered?

6. What other liquids might have different densities?

7. What happened when you added the Alka Seltzer tablet? Why do you think that happened?

STEPS

1. Add 1/3 cup of hot water from the sink into the jar with a lid.

2. Swirl it around in the jar to warm up the sides.

3. Turn the lid upside down and place it on top of the jar.

4. Add 5-7 ice cubes onto the lid and allow the ice to rest on the top of the jar for 20 seconds.

5. Remove the lid, quickly spray a small amount of hairspray into the jar, and then replace the lid with the ice still on top.

6. When you see a good amount of condensation (gas changing into a liquid) in the jar, remove the lid.

7. When you added the warm water to the jar, some of it turned into vapor. Then, the vapor rose to the top of the jar, and it came into contact with the cold air from the ice cubes. When the vapor cooled, it also condensed. The cloud formed when you gave the condensation something to hold on to, hairspray! In nature, water vapor condenses with dust, air pollution, pollen, or other small particles in the air.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. Why do you think you added warm water then cold ice to the top of the jar?

2. What happened inside the jar when the lid was on?

3. What happened when you removed the lid?

4. Why do you think this happened?

5. Where else have you seen condensation before(ex. bathroom mirror after a shower)?

6. Do the experiment over again, but this time change one part of the experiment. For example, what happens when you add more or less water, or use a smaller or bigger jar?

7. Create a raincloud in a jar. Click HERE for instructions.

STEPS

1. Squeeze 2 of your lemon halves into a small cup so that you have extra lemon juice.

2. Place half a lemon on a plate or a tray. This will prevent a mess when the volcano erupts.

3. Use the handle of your spoon to poke holes in the different sections of the lemon. See step 1 on the handout.

4. Put a few drops of food coloring around the different sections of the lemon. You can use just one color or different colors. See step 2 on the handout.

5. Pour some Dawn dish soap over the top of the lemon. See step 3 on the handout.

6. Use a spoon to sprinkle baking soda over the top of the lemon. See step 4 on the handout. Save a little bit of your baking soda to add later. You can also use the handle to push some of the baking soda into sections of the lemon to help your eruption along.

7. It will take a few minutes for the reaction to begin and your volcano to start to erupt. As it begins to erupt, you can use the handle of your spoon to push more the baking soda into the lemon more.

8. After the first eruption has stopped, you can add more baking soda and pour your extra lemon juice on top to continue the reaction.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. What do you think will happen when you add the dish soap and baking soda to the lemon? Come up with a hypothesis (a guess).

2. What happened when you added the baking soda to your lemon? Why do you think that happened? What surprised you?

3. What made the lemon volcano erupt?

4. What did you like about the activity?

5. What challenged you?

6. What do you want to learn more about?

7. Try doing the same experiment with other citrus fruits like limes, oranges, and grapefruits. Which fruit has the biggest eruption?

8. For a number of lessons on volcanos, click HERE.

9. Check out this short film about working as a volcanologist:

In this activity, we will design and create a boat out of household objects with the goal of making it float and hold as much weight as possible.

SUPPLIES

• Any materials found around the home, such as tape, plastic wrap, paper or foam cups, foil, straws, popsicle sticks, glue, etc.

• Items to decorate your boat

• A tub or sink filled with water

• Coins or other small objects to use as weights

STEPS

1. Collect all the materials that you will need to build your boat.

2. Design and build a boat that will float and hold weight.

3. Decorate your boat with a fun design and/or give it a name.

4. Once your boat is ready, fill a tub or sink with water.

5. Place your boat in the water, and ensure it floats for at least 30 seconds before adding any weights. If your boat does not float for 30 seconds, reassess your design and make any necessary modifications to ensure it can float.

6. Once your boat is floating, begin adding coins or other weights to your boat. See how many coins you can add to your boat without it sinking or tipping over. If your boat cannot hold at least 10 coins without sinking, reassess your design and make any necessary modifications to ensure it can hold enough weight.

7. Take note of how many coins your boat was able to hold while staying afloat!

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. What did you learn from this activity?

2. What did your boat look like?

3. What were the main features of your design?

4. Was your overall boat design successful? What worked? What didn’t work?

5. Would it have been helpful to have different materials? If so, what?

6. Research famous nautical engineers such as Robert Fulton, Thomas Andrews, or Victoria Drummond. What were their inventions? How have they influenced today’s ships?

In this activity, you will create string art based on a template or design of your choosing.

SUPPLIES

• Cork board, foam board, or wood board

• Pushpins, toothpicks, or nails

• Hammer (if using nails)

• Colorful string, yarn, or thread

STEPS

1. Select a template that you would like to use for your design, such as a heart or letter. If you need inspiration, check out the templates HERE.

2. Stick your pins into your board following the design of your selected template. Pins will serve as the corners of the shape, and string will create the lines.

3. Tie string around the pins. Then loop the string around other pins to create the lines of your design. Use various colors of string to enhance your design. You can make heavier lines by wrapping string around the same pins multiple times.

4. Use string to tie, loop, or zigzag on pins until all pins have been looped with string and your design is complete.

5. Tie off the ends of your string.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. What did you learn from this activity?

2. Was it hard to create your design? Why or why not?

3. Did you make any mistakes? How did you fix those mistakes?