National Science Day: Try these DIY activities to learn new concepts

Hello, young learners. We are happy that you have enjoyed making really interesting objects like a bird feeder and a kite in our previous editions. 

Today being National Science Day, our neighbourhood scientist Kiki asked me to think of some activities that are science-based. So, let’s explore two activities that are fun and easy to make, that too with things that you can mostly find at home. As an added bonus, you can learn science through them! Before we get started with the activities, you need to remember to have an adult nearby to guide you and help with some difficult steps.

Are you excited? Here we go!

Experiment 1 – Toy Parachute

This is one of the most interesting activities that I have ever tried. We are going to make a parachute! I am sure you must have seen parachutes in cartoons, films or books as they transport people to the ground when aircrafts fail. You can make this little toy parachute anywhere and can join hands with your friends to learn from this experiment as well.

Things you need:

• Plastic cover, cloth or even a mask!
• A thick thread or wool (ensure it is fairly long)
• A paper cup (that we drink liquids in)
• A sharp object to poke holes
• Three very small toys (each of them must fit into the cup separately)
• A pair of scissors

Procedure:

1. In a square-shaped plastic cover, make holes on all the four sides of the cover. (TAKE AN ADULT’S HELP)

2. Take the very long thread and cut it into four pieces. Each of them can be around 25-30 cm long – as long as a foot ruler. (ENSURE AN ADULT HELPS YOU)

3. In the tea cup, make two holes on the top and two holes at the bottom. Tie a thread in all the four holes of the pl and leave them hanging.

4. Connect the four ends of the thread to the four ends of the cover.

5. Place the toys in the cup and drop it from the top floor. 

A tip: Try the same experiment with toys of varying weights and measure the time it takes for the parachute to fly down to the ground. 

Some observations:

• When you use lighter toys, the parachute comes down slowly.
• When you place heavier toys inside the cup, it falls on the ground faster.
• If you use a bigger cover while making the parachute, it comes down slowly.
• If you use a smaller cover, the parachute comes down faster.

Lessons learnt:

• There is a force called ‘gravity’ that brings all the objects down to the ground. This force brings the toy parachute down too. 
• In the parachute, we use a wide cover, which has another force called air resistance acting on it. This keeps the parachute flying in air.
• When the parachute comes down, a balance between gravity and air resistance makes it land smoothly and not fall down really fast. (In a real parachute, there’s a person who is hanging from the ropes! It’s important to have the right balance between the two forces, so that the person doesn’t fall down fast and get hurt)
• The landing depends on the weight of the object. For lighter objects, the effect of gravity is less, the landing takes longer. For heavier objects, the effect of gravity is high and the landing happens in a shorter span of time. 

Aren’t these observations interesting?! 

Experiment 2 – Lemon Volcano

Not all of you may have seen a volcano explode but you may have learnt about it in school. As much as it’s scary to see the explosion and hot molten lava flowing out of the volcano, it’s also interesting to observe, right? We can create something similar with just three things available in your own kitchen. Of course, you need the help of an adult here too!

Things needed

• Lemon
• Food colouring
• Baking soda/dish soap
• Knife
• Spoon

Procedure

1. Cut the lemon into two halves. (ENSURE THAT AN ADULT DOES IT)
2. Scoop out a bit of the pulp from the lemon in the cut half with a spoon or a fork.
3. Add a bit of food colouring inside the scooped-out lemon.
4. Add some baking soda to the coloured lemon and wait for a few seconds. 
5. Watch the lemon volcano come to life!

Lessons learnt:

• Lemon contains an acid – citric acid. This mixes with the baking soda or dish soap to release a gas called carbon dioxide (CO2) that bubbles up!
• The gas is trying to get released and that builds up the pressure inside the lemon, creating bubbles in the process.
• The bubbling stops when all of the gas is released. 

Did you have fun while learning some important concepts in science? Please share your experience in comments or in an email to storyweavers@byjus.com. We will be happy to see some photos or videos too. 

Liked these activities. Try these too

Make your own bird feeder

Make your own kite