Activities: Things to Try at Home

Try this… Lift your right foot a few inches from the floor and then begin to move it in a clockwise direction. While you’re doing this, use a finger your right index finger to draw a number 6 in the…

Try this… Bend your middle finger and place the centre section on a table or hard surface. You will be able to lift your thumb, index, and little finger without moving your middle finger. But it is impossible to lift…

You will need: a clean dish water 6 flat wooden toothpicks or matches washing up liquid   Try this Dip one of your toothpicks in washing up liquid. Set it aside for now Make sure your dish is clean and…

Food colourings are often made of several different chemicals. As the water spreads through the paper the mixture separates and rings of colour are formed. You can try this for yourself using Smarties, like below:   Put the smartie on…

Branching patterns are very common in nature because they can reach a large area very efficiently. Examples of branching patterns include tree branches, blood vessels, roots, lightning, river networks and even the connections in your brain. That is what we…

Put some raisins into a glass of lemonade and watch what happens. When lots of bubbles collect in the wrinkles of the raisins they are lifted upwards. At the top the bubbles burst. The raisins then sink back to the…

Human beings have a centre of balance around the belly button. You can usually stay balanced as long as the imaginary vertical line down from your belly button falls between the area that you are balancing on – usually your…

Have you ever had a glass of orange juice after brushing your teeth? Not very nice, is it? To work out what’s going on we need to know about toothpaste, orange juice and what your taste buds do. Your tongue…

Make a circle with your thumb and first finger. With both eyes open look at an object on the wall or in the distance, and centre it inside the circle. Now close one eye, and then the other. What’s happening?…

Stare at the picture above for a count of ten. Then look at the white area next to it. What do you see? What’s happening? This is called persistence of vision. You detect darkness and brightness using cells called rods…