Steve Spangler Science
Flying Tea Rocket - Sick Science! #024
Add this to your repertoire of convection demonstrations. This one can be done by mature and skilled laboratory classes. Basically, open a tea bag, clip the ends off, open and empty it, then stand it on one end. Light the top of it. As...
Steve Spangler Science
Hovering Plane - Sick Science! #027
Bring Bernoulli's principle before the eyes of your earth scientists! By setting two fans up facing each other, you can get a paper airplane to hover between them. Lift and drag concepts can be taught when you show this clip or perform...
Steve Spangler Science
Heavy Newspaper - Sick Science! #025
Here is an unforgettable demonstration of the power of air! Because the column of air is about 250 miles or 400 km tall, its weight on a sheet of newspaper is enough to hold a stick in place as you smack the other end to break it....
Steve Spangler Science
Denver's Brown Cloud - Cool Science Experiment
Why does a brown cloud occur in Denver at a certain time of the year? When warm air is higher in the atmosphere, it traps cooler, denser air below and smog just sits in between them. Using bottles of colored hot and cold water, this...
Curated OER
Tell Me Why: Stars Twinkle
Do you know why stars twinkle? You will after watching this clip from "Tell Me Why." A top astronomer explains that stars twinkle because of the earth's imperfect atmosphere. Each imperfection or irregularity cause the light from the...
Bill Nye
Bill Nye The Science Guy on The Atmosphere
Only a minute and a half long, this video discusses how air acts as an insulator and why air higher in the atmosphere is colder than it is down closer to Earth's surface. He defines the lapse rate and shows how to calculate it. Because...
Curated OER
What is a Cloud?
Watch this clip and learn about three types of cloud shapes and three types of cloud composition. This clip is very quick and may need to be stopped a few times to ensure maximum concept understanding and retention. Best used for review...
Curated OER
What is Weather?
Weather is produced by several factors: heat, air temperature, wind, and moisture. Learn about each factor and how they work together to create the wide variety of weather patterns we see every day. This clip is well done but runs...
Curated OER
Planet Carbon
Carbon is essential to life; yet, too much carbon will stifle life here on Earth. Our planet hangs in a delicate balance and the increased greenhouse gases threaten to harm the environment. Now that we have recognized human contribution,...
Curated OER
STEMbite: Atmospheric Pressure
Mr. Vanden Heuvel is in the bathroom again! This time he examines the strength of atmospheric pressure with a classic demonstration of filling a glass with water in the sink to reveal the column that fills the glass. Then he places a...