Dry Ice Experiments
Offered close to Halloween, this is one of those programs that will draw a larger audience than your usual crowd. I had some adults who wanted to attend, too, and I let them as long as they sat in the back row and behaved.
Materials Needed:
Dry Ice (details below)
Several containers of various sizes
Plenty of hot water and a way to keep it hot
Dish washing soap
Length of fabric
Candle & Lighter
Cooler
Gloves
Hammer
Carved Pumkin with small container for water inside
Spoons - three various sizes
Cost:
Finding most of the needed materials at home, I only needed to spend around $13 for about 10 pounds of dry ice.
Description:
1. Before the program - purchase the dry ice. I bought the dry ice close to the event, however, if you buy it in the morning before an evening event, I recommend buying twice as much as you think you'll need to be safe. Dry ice sublimates (melts) at about 10 pounds per 24 hours.
2. Before the program - carve a pumpkin. I like to use the fog-spuing pumpkin as a decoration that also suggests a use for dry ice.
3. Before the program - Heat plenty of water and have it handy. I used a large coffee maker.
4. Just before opening the doors, get the pumkin going by filling a small container with hot water and dropping in some dry ice. Also get a couple other cauldrons going.
5. Talk about dry ice safety and preparation (see handout).
6. The experiments:
A. Extinguish a candle - after the demonstration, invite three teens to see who can extinguish the flame the fastest. I give them gloves and a large drinking glass with hot water and dry ice.
B. With a dry ice cauldron going, add a small amount of dish soap. The resulting bubbles may be safely handled.
C. With a dry ice cauldron going, dunk a long piece of fabric into a high concentration of dish soap and water. Dragging the fabric over the cauldron will (eventually) create a bubble that will be filled with dry ice fog. This is called a crystal bubble. It is fun to put a waterproof flashlight inside the cauldren and dim the lights for a nice effect.
D. Singing spoons - have a few teens warm up various sized spoons in their hands. Press the spoons directly onto a large piece of dry ice and listen to the spoons sing.
Additional Resources:
Dry Ice Handout.doc
Short video of Steve Spangler with some great advice.
More experiment ideas like poping film canisters, self-inflating balloon, etc.
Dryiceinfo.com
Comments:
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.