Closing in on 500 Fans

Way back in November, we started a contest to reach 500 Fans (now of course, "likes") on our Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/powscience). Now we're actually getting close (about 480 as of this writing), so it's time to reboot the contest!

When we hit 500 Fans, we'll be giving away 3 prizes:
3rd Place~Pow!Science T-Shirt!
2nd Place~ Pow!Science Gift Card
1st Place~A Super Cool LEGO Set!

If you're already a fan, you're entered, but the winning doesn't start until we hit 500, so "share" us, suggest us, and help us get to the 500 Fan Mark! Let the winning begin!

The Ultimate Valentine's Heart from Pow!Science! to you.

Pow!Science! says...if you're going to give your Valentine a heart, it may as well be authentic!

The EduSci Human Heart Model is perfect for that very special nerd in your life.

Happy Valentine's Day.

Family Science Nights are held every month at Pow!Science in both our Wakefield and Providence Locations. Check our Online Events Calendar to learn more and to find out about everything coming up at Pow!Science!

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Cackling, Crowing Cup!

Objective: To amplify sound waves using very simple equipment.

Materials:
Paper Cup
Push Pin
String
Paper clip
Water
Paper Towel

Procedure:
1. Use the push pin to poke a hole in the bottom of the cup. Make the hole
big enough to thread the string through the hole.
2. Thread the string through the cup. Tie the paperclip to the end of the string
on the outside of the cup, so that when you pull the string through, the
paper clip will be on the bottom of the cup.
3. Fold your paper towel so that it’s a rectangle about 2 inches by 1 inch
(very approximate is fine).
4. Wet the paper towel with water and squeeze most of the moisture out.

Now for the tricky part:
5. Hold the cup upside down in one hand, with the string dangling down
towards the floor. Hold the damp paper towel in the other hand.
6. Firmly grasp the string with the damp paper towel. Jerk the paper towel
down the string, so that the paper towel slips along the string. If no sound
is produced, dampen the paper towel a bit more and try again. With
practice, you’ll get that string howling!

What’s Going On?
What we’re doing here is amplifying sound—producing the sound the string
would make anyway, but making it louder. All sound comes from vibration. Here,
the string is vibrating, and that gets the air inside the cup vibrating. The shape of
the cup helps to amplify the sound. HONK!

Think and Talk About This:
Different materials can do a better job of amplifying sound waves. What do you
think would happen if you tried this experiment at home with a tin can instead of
a paper cup? Try it with Mom/Dad’s help!

www.powscience.com

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DIY Inchworm Robot!

Recycling? How about upcycling a nifty little DIY Inchworm 'Bot from a comb, ruler and a couple of other readily available items?

Kudos to the folks at unpluggd & Rob from Windswept Kites!

Steampunk Science Posters & Postcards

These are awesome! Original Works by Megan Lee Katauskas at etsy.

Fun Home Experiment: Split a Penny in Twain!

Use your head when doing this experiment. An ounce of prevention and all that.

File off the edge of a 1982 or later penny. You'll see the silvery zinc underneath. Drop the filed penny into a small glass with hydrochloric acid in it (get some Muriatic acid from the paint store--it's something like 37% HCl). BE CAREFUL with this stuff, it's very caustic.

You'll see the penny bubbling away as the zinc and HCl react. The copper won't react with the HCl, however. Let the penny bubble until it stops (mine took about 90 minutes). Run the water in your sink at full blast and SLOWLY decant the acid out of the glass and into the sink. Use a metal strainer if you can't pour slowly enough to prevent your penny-copper-foils from pouring out. DON'T add water to your acid in the glass. That's bad.

Rinse the penny foils thoroughly and check them out! COOL! The picture seems mundane until you consider that it is of both sides of the same penny.

Two Easy Physics Experiments to Try at Home from Pow!Science!

Each month, Pow!Science! offers fun, free Family Science Nights, where parents and kids sit down together to perform 3 engaging, hands ON experiments.

Find out when the next FSN is happening on our Events Calendar. If you can't make it to a Family Science Night, try the two simple Physics Experiments below!

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Two Cool Experiments to See Just How Things Work



Experiment ONE: Lift Heavy with Light


Get these Materials Ready:

• Marble*

• Ball of Clay, larger & heavier than the marble

• Empty Spool or an empty toilet/paper towel roll (you’ll need a longer string
if you use a paper towel roll)

• String, about 12 inches long (longer can be hazardous)

• Tape

* If you don't have a marble handy, the experiment can also be performed with two balls of clay; one smaller, one larger.


Do These Steps:


1) Tape one end of the string to the marble (use plenty of tape to make sure it’s
secure).

2) Thread the string through the spool, and then attach (using tape if necessary)
the other end of the string to the ball of clay.

READ THIS, then TRY IT:

Even though the clay ball is heavier than the marble, you can use the
marble to support the ball by holding the spool and spinning the marble around
like a lasso. Practice lifting the clay ball by “marble spin power”. Can you make
the clay ball stay at a constant height? Try it!




Experiment TWO: Up Against the Wall!



Get these Materials Ready:

A Paper Towel, handkerchief or any small object

A Partner



Do These Steps:

1) Stand with your heels right up against a wall.

2) Have your partner place the paper towel about 30 centimeters in front of your
toes.

3) Try and bend down WITHOUT BENDING YOUR KNEES and pick up the
paper towel. PARTNER: Be ready to help keep experimenter from falling!


What Happens?


4) Now stand about 60 centimeters away from the wall, and repeat the
experiment with the paper towel.



What happens this time?