Science Buddies
Potato Battery Science Experiment
How do you make a battery from a potato? How much electricity can you produce? Does the amount of electricity change if you make a parallel versus serial circuit? Explore these questions and more with a potato battery science experiment.
Science Buddies
Candy Chromatography: What Colors Are in Your Candy?
How many dyes are in a bag of M&Ms? The answer might surprise you! Not every M&M color is a single dye; some are mixtures. You can discover all of the colors using a technique called paper chromatography. This video shows you...
Science Buddies
Iteration in the Engineering Design Process
Learn about the importance of iteration and failure in the engineering design process. Your design might not work perfectly on the first try, and that's OK! For a complete guide to the engineering design process, see the Science Buddies...
Science Buddies
Test Your Food for Starch
Do you know the difference between starchy and non-starchy foods? How do you know which foods contain starch and which ones do not? There is a simple chemical test you can do to find out. This video will show you how it works!
Science Buddies
Model the Size of a Virus
How big or small are viruses really? This video shows you how you can make a scale model to find out and compare the size of a virus to many other small objects. How much bigger do you think a pencil dot is compared to a coronavirus?
Science Buddies
Paper Chromatography Experiments and Explanations
What food dyes are in your candy? Is black ink really black? What gives fall leaves their color? These are all questions that you can investigate using paper chromatography – a technique that can separate mixtures into their individual...
Science Buddies
Holes That Do Not Leak!
Did you know that at sea level there are about 15 pounds of air pressing on each square inch of your body? This air is very helpful in our daily lives. For example, this layer of air helps to keep the Earth from getting inhospitably cold...
Science Buddies
Change the Reaction Rate of a Foaming Reaction
How can you change the rate of a chemical reaction? This video shows how you can find out by experimenting with a fun foaming reaction! How much foam can you create?
Science Buddies
Measure Up with a Homemade Thermometer
Are you eager to understand how everyday items work, or interested in making useful objects and instruments yourself? Have you ever imagined you could build your own thermometer? In this activity, you will make a liquid thermometer to...
Science Buddies
Can You Kazoo?
Do you remember your last parade, party, or fair? You might have been surrounded by sounds of all kinds: fireworks, music, and, maybe even the famous (or infamous) sound of kazoos. A kazoo is a very simple musical instrument, made up of...
Science Buddies
Build a Bottle Centrifuge
Centrifuges are machines that can separate mixtures by spinning them very fast! How does this work? This video shows how you can build your own bottle centrifuge to find out.
Science Buddies
Leaf Chromatography: Explore the Colors of Fall
Have you ever wondered what makes the bright colors of fall leaves? You can uncover all of their color pigments with a technique called paper chromatography. This video will show you how to set up and run the experiment yourself!
Science Buddies
Make Your Own Seismograph
Scientists study earthquakes so we can understand them better and hopefully one day predict them so we can save thousands of lives. A seismograph is a tool scientists use to record earthquakes and measure their strength. In this activity...
Science Buddies
Measure Static Electricity With An Electroscope!
Find out about static electricity in this STEM activity and measure which materials get charged the easiest with the help of a homemade electroscope!
Science Buddies
Strawberry DNA Extraction
Have you ever wondered how scientists get a sample of DNA from a plant, animal, or other organism? DNA is the genetic instructions for how an organism develops and functions. This video will show you how to extract enough DNA from...
Science Buddies
Dissect a Flower
Springtime is when nature comes back to life. Trees are growing their leaves again and flowers are sprouting, displaying their beautiful colors and spreading their delightful smell. But have you ever looked at a flower in more detail?...
Science Buddies
Basic Circuits Kit: Conductors and Insulators
This video shows how to use a few simple materials (lightbulb, batteries, and alligator clips) to create a circuit to light up a lightbulb. From there, the video shows how to use the circuit to experiment and determine if various...
Science Buddies
Solve a Mirror Maze Reflection Challenge
In this video, you will see how you can use reflective surfaces to redirect a light beam to wherever you need to if you place the mirrors correctly. Can you use what you learned to guide a light beam through a maze and around obstacles...
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Distorted Images in Curved Mirrors
Have you ever visited a house of mirrors and seen a wacky-looking version of yourself? In this activity you can construct your own miniature house of mirrors. Try it out and see what funny reflections you can make!
Science Buddies
Why Soda Fizzes — Boyle's Law Demonstration
You have probably cracked open a soda before to see the liquid fizz right up out of the bottle, creating a huge mess. Why does that happen? It has to do with the carbon dioxide gas that is added to the liquid to make it fizzy. Opening...
Science Buddies
Solubility Science – STEM Activity
How long do you think you could survive without drinking any water? Only three to four days! Your body needs water to function properly. We also rely on water for cooking, cleaning and many other activities. You might not think about...
Science Buddies
How to Use a Breadboard
This tutorial shows you how to use a solderless breadboard to build an electronic circuit, including the basics of how a breadboard works and some common mistakes that beginners make.
Science Buddies
How to Build a Toy Car - Science Project
Explore engineering and potential and kinetic energy by building and testing your very own toy car.
Science Buddies
Build a Marble Roller Coaster
How much energy does a roller coaster need to go through a loop without getting stuck? Build your own marble roller coaster in this project and find out!