Design and Test a Parachute Learn about air resistance while making an awesome parachute!

Design one that can fall slowly to the ground before putting it to the test, making modifications as you go. What you'll need:

A plastic bag or light material Scissors String A small object to act as the weight, a little action figure would be perfect

Instructions: 1. Cut out a large square from your plastic bag or material. 2. Trim the edges so it looks like an octagon (an eight sided shape). 3. Cut a small whole near the edge of each side. 4. Attach 8 pieces of string of the same length to each of the holes. 5. Tie the pieces of string to the object you are using as a weight. 6. Use a chair or find a high spot to drop your parachute and test how well it worked, remember that you want it to drop as slow as possible.
What's happening? Hopefully your parachute will descend slowly to the ground, giving your weight a comfortable landing. When you release the parachute the weight pulls down on the strings and opens up a large surface area of material that uses air resistance to slow it down. The larger the surface area the more air resistance and the slower the parachute will drop. Cutting a small hole in the middle of the parachute will allow air to slowly pass through it rather than spilling out over one side, this should help the parachute fall straighter.

Simple Supplies for a "Sparkly Explosion:"

vase baking soda vinegar food coloring (we used neon red) blue glitter (this is very important, though you can use any color) other supplies--see step 4. pan to contain the mess

The Easy How-To: 1. Place 2-3 Tablespoons baking soda in the bottom of the vase. Put the vase in the pan. 2. Add 6-7 drops of food coloring and 1-2 teaspoons of glitter. 3. Quickly pour in about 1/2 cup vinegar. Watch for the sparkles! 4. When the action is over, repeat the experiment, but this time let your child choose other supplies to add. What does pepper look like in the "explosion?" Does salt change anything? What about spaghetti noodles? Remember this is not a demonstration, it is an experiment! Let your child change the variables, predict what will happen, and enjoy the results! Explanation: At some point during an experiment like this, I review with my children that baking soda and vinegar react to make the explosion. Older children can understand that baking soda is a base and vinegar is an acid and mixing acids and bases makes a reaction. They can also base their experiments in Step 4 on this knowledge. My children are old enough to know that some things react when you mix them together.

Make an Easy Lava Lamp Learn how to make an easy lava lamp with this fun science experiment for kids. Use simple household items such as vegetable oil, food coloring, Alka-Seltzer and a bottle to create chemical reactions and funky balls of color that move around like a real lava lamp. What you'll need:

Water A clear plastic bottle Vegetable oil Food coloring Alka-Seltzer (or other tablets that fizz)

Instructions: 1. Pour water into the plastic bottle until it is around one quarter full (you might want to use a funnel when filling the bottle so you don't spill anything). 2. Pour in vegetable oil until the bottle is nearly full. 3. Wait until the oil and water have separated. 4. Add around a dozen drops of food coloring to the bottle (choose any color you like). 5. Watch as the food coloring falls through the oil and mixes with the water. 6. Cut an Alka-Seltzer tablet into smaller pieces (around 5 or 6) and drop one of them into the bottle, things should start getting a little crazy, just like a real lava lamp! 7. When the bubbling stops, add another piece of Alka-Seltzer and enjoy the show!
What's happening? If you've tried our oil and water experiment you'll know that the two don't mix very well. The oil and water you added to the bottle separate from each other, with oil on top because it has a lower density than water. The food coloring falls through the oil and mixes with the water at the bottom. The piece of Alka-Seltzer tablet you drop in after releases small bubbles of carbon dioxide gas that rise to the top and take some of the colored water along for the ride. The gas escapes when it reaches the top and the colored water falls back down. The reason Alka-Seltzer fizzes in such a way is because it contains citric acid and baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), the two react with water to form sodium citrate and carbon dioxide gas (those are the bubbles that carry the colored water to the top of the bottle). Adding more Alka-Seltzer to the bottle keeps the reaction going so you can enjoy your funky lava lamp for longer. If you want to show someone later you can simply screw on a bottle cap and add more Alka-Seltzer when you need to. When you've finished all your Alka-Seltzer, you can take the experiment a step further by tightly screwing on a bottle cap and tipping the bottle back and forth, what happens then?

Types of Robots
Learn about a variety of interesting types of robots that lead the way in the world of robotics and artificial intelligence. Theres the best in Japanese robots, humanoid robots, autonomous robots and entertainment robots. Get information on popular robots such as ASIMO, AIBO, QRIO and more.

QRIO
Made by: Sony Height: 61cm Pronounced curio the name stands for quest for curiosity in Japanese. Purpose: To live with you, make life fun and make you happy. What can it do? Walk, talk, run, dance, recognize voices and faces, play ball games and surf the web. Features: Foot sensors so it can play soccer. Ankles with ball joints so it can walk on uneven surfaces. Picks itself up after falling and even checks itself for damage. Moves with quick, smooth movements. Check out this video of QRIO dancing.

PaPeRo Made by: NEC Height: 38cm PaPeRo stands for: Partner-type Personal Robot Purpose: To both entertain and assist around the house. What can it do? Recognizes speech, talks, moves, responds to users, controls household devices. Features:

Recognizes 650 phrases and 3000 words. Can wirelessly control your TV and surf the internet. Designed to look cute so humans feel protective rather than threatened.

AIBO Made by: Sony (Japan) Height: 27cm AIBO stands for: Artificial Intelligent Robot AIBO features a variety of senses:

Touch - Feels human contact through sensors on head, back, chin & paws. Hearing - Detects sound through a pair of stereo microphones, voice recognition. Sight - Color camera, distance sensors and facial recognition. Balance - Keeps balance through acceleration sensors.

Other features:

AIBO possesses 5 basic instincts: Love, Search, Movement, Recharge & Sleep Each AIBO begins life as a newborn puppy, over time it will develop its own unique personality based upon how it is raised. AIBO likes to dance & play with his toys - An AIBOne and pink ball, he also likes to perform tricks with them. When AIBO is low on power he will seek out his energy station on his own. AIBO can take photos on command or whenever he chooses to, these can be sent via email or stored on his memory card. AIBO can look after youre house when you are away, he can detect movement and sound, taking a picture and notifying you via email. As well as voice recognition, you can also communicate to AIBO using his graphics cards, these are useful when the surroundings are noisy.

Simple wood airplane

MATERIALS - 1 Wood stick (for the main body and wheels) - 2 smaller wood stick ( to connect all parts ) - 3 tongue depressors ( for the wings and flaps ) TOOLS - wood saw - rasps - wood glue - varnish

How to Make a Simple Pop Pop Boat This video guide shows you how to make a simple model pop pop steam boat out of a few household items. Great fun craft idea.

Items needed are: 1 Drinks Can 1 Juice Carton 2 Straws Blu-Tack