We are missing our annual on-campus extravaganza of hands-on science discovery for kids, but we've created these activities so that you can have some fun exploring science at home. The "Activities" below are guides for you to do an experiment at home, while the "Videos" vary: some are show-and-tell, some are demos, and most lead you through an experiment you can do yourself. Enjoy!
We would love to share this experience with you! Take a pic and tag @WaterlooSci on Instagram or Twitter.
Activities
- Mud, beautiful mud: A Winogradsky column shows how different bacteria live in different mud environments. Make your own!
- Now you see it... Use your home LCD screen to discover the colourful surprises that light polarization can hide!
- Invisible H₂O: The hidden water consumption behind our daily lives. Take this quiz from the Ecohydrology Research group to see if you know all the sneaky ways your family can reduce water use!
- The Width of a Hair. Do you have a laser pointer? This experiment allows you to measure the width of a hair using light interference!
- Colourful Cabbage. Kitchen Chemistry! Follow these instructions to make a pH indicator from red cabbage juice. Test all the liquids you can find for colourful results! (to see other indicators used in the lab, see this video Sue made for her current Chem students)
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Backyard Weather Station. Engineering Science Quest's Amy and Christina help you design and build your own backyard weather station!
Videos
Activity: Alex teaches you how to extract DNA from a banana, with some banana shenanigans thrown in for good measure.
Activity: Change potential energy to kinetic in this easy but entertaining activity. Can you keep out of the grasshopper's way?