jo70mo

Hope this is ok to ask on here.
A friend and her kids want to do some stuff that makes things go bang, whoosh, makes them jump, makes a mess, is cheap and can involve plenty of colour and glitter but doesn't have to.
She has found and tried some experiments on pinterest but feels they were more damp squib than anything else and all effort over in a minute for not much excitement.
For example she did vinegar and bicarb in a self seal sandwich bag and the description said it would pop and fly in the air but all they got was a bit of a pop.
She really wants a bit more (safe) drama.
Has anyone got any tried and tested stuff that goes bang,makes you jump and creates a mess!!
her 4 kids range from 3 to 14.

Thanks

Jo

Danielle

A tube of mentos in a two liter bottle of diet coke. It only lasts for a few seconds but it is awesome and messy.

Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 17, 2012, at 3:16 PM, "jo70mo" <jo70mo@...> wrote:

> Hope this is ok to ask on here.
> A friend and her kids want to do some stuff that makes things go bang, whoosh, makes them jump, makes a mess, is cheap and can involve plenty of colour and glitter but doesn't have to.
> She has found and tried some experiments on pinterest but feels they were more damp squib than anything else and all effort over in a minute for not much excitement.
> For example she did vinegar and bicarb in a self seal sandwich bag and the description said it would pop and fly in the air but all they got was a bit of a pop.
> She really wants a bit more (safe) drama.
> Has anyone got any tried and tested stuff that goes bang,makes you jump and creates a mess!!
> her 4 kids range from 3 to 14.
>
> Thanks
>
> Jo
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Meredith

"jo70mo" <jo70mo@...> wrote:
>
> Hope this is ok to ask on here.
> A friend and her kids want to do some stuff that makes things go bang, whoosh, makes them jump, makes a mess, is cheap and can involve plenty of colour and glitter but doesn't have to... 4 kids range from 3 to 14
***************

For the younger kids, play with water pressure - a hose with various attachments, water balloons, squirt guns. Play games like egg-toss using not only eggs but ripe fruit - and of course more water balloons.

If they like big noises, get drums and cymbals. If you can find one, get a piano. Play with resonance and percussion. Smash things (safely!) by throwing or putting them in a bag and hitting them with a hammer. Get a cheap amp and play with amplified sound and (inevitably) feedback.

Whoosh... you mean fly? Make paper airplanes and gliders. Look for kits and instructions to attach balloons. Get a remote control helicopter. Look into those flexible race-track kits for toy cars.

For tweens, balsa wood cars and small rockets with NO2 cartridges might be fun, if they're into the process. Play with hot air - make hot air balloons with birthday candles and simple gizmos to twirl over a tea-candle. Play with fire (safely!) on a hearth or in a grill. Get some snap circuits and play with electricity.

Fireworks - depending on where you are, those are a great source of bangs, flashes and whooshes.

Poi and other fire toys are fun, and poi themselves are easy to use:
http://www.renegadejuggling.com/fire-props-c88.html

And there are LED toys to spin and juggle:
http://www.renegadejuggling.com/glow-props-LED-c206.html

> She has found and tried some experiments...

The thing is, there aren't really any good ones that don't involve some degree of danger. The bigger the reaction, the more energy is involved - so beyond simply foaming up, that means you're getting into heat, electricity, and serious chemical reactions. And an impressive reaction takes a lot more time to set up than the reaction itself.

---Meredith

Schuyler

Mentos and diet coke! Brilliant. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKoB0MHVBvM

We've also done bicarb and vinegar and food colouring volcanoes. Milk and soap and food colouring is fun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmxhH7QMnJ8&feature=related. This is cool: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrVuag3YCtQ&feature=fvwberel, how to make a bouncy egg. I could keep linking stuff from youtube, but that's where I'd go. Go to youtube, put in at home experiments for children and see what comes up. You can also look at krampf experiments, a lot seems to be pay for, but maybe there are still free things there? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrVuag3YCtQ&feature=fvwberel.

Oh my! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mc8KLKCPIlk&feature=fvwberel

Oh, oobleck is really fun. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yWQeCkuV3s

Schuyler


________________________________
From: jo70mo <jo70mo@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, 18 September 2012, 5:16
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] Things that go bang and whoosh?


 
Hope this is ok to ask on here.
A friend and her kids want to do some stuff that makes things go bang, whoosh, makes them jump, makes a mess, is cheap and can involve plenty of colour and glitter but doesn't have to.
She has found and tried some experiments on pinterest but feels they were more damp squib than anything else and all effort over in a minute for not much excitement.
For example she did vinegar and bicarb in a self seal sandwich bag and the description said it would pop and fly in the air but all they got was a bit of a pop.
She really wants a bit more (safe) drama.
Has anyone got any tried and tested stuff that goes bang,makes you jump and creates a mess!!
her 4 kids range from 3 to 14.

Thanks

Jo




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

BRIAN POLIKOWSKY

Mentos and Diet Pepsi come to mind!
No sparkles but loots of woosh!

 
Alex Polikowsky
 
 
 


________________________________
From: jo70mo <jo70mo@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Monday, September 17, 2012 2:16 PM
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] Things that go bang and whoosh?


 
Hope this is ok to ask on here.
A friend and her kids want to do some stuff that makes things go bang, whoosh, makes them jump, makes a mess, is cheap and can involve plenty of colour and glitter but doesn't have to.
She has found and tried some experiments on pinterest but feels they were more damp squib than anything else and all effort over in a minute for not much excitement.
For example she did vinegar and bicarb in a self seal sandwich bag and the description said it would pop and fly in the air but all they got was a bit of a pop.
She really wants a bit more (safe) drama.
Has anyone got any tried and tested stuff that goes bang,makes you jump and creates a mess!!
her 4 kids range from 3 to 14.

Thanks

Jo




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]