Materials Brochure

TechniquestStuart StreetCardiff Bay

CardiffCF10 5BW

Tel: 029 20 475 475www.techniquest.org

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Bubble Race

There are a number of acrylic tubes, each containing a metal ball, a Teflon lozenge and oil of a particular viscosity. The ball and the lozenge are the same for every tube. The viscosity of the oil varies. Two large stopwatches are provided, so that each child can time the progress of the ball and the lozenge through the oil in his or her tube.

Cartesian Diver

There is a squeezable plastic bottle with a “Cartesian Diver”. They are not expected to understand gas pressure, just that a gas can be compressed, but a liquid can only be compressed very little – and how this relates to why the diver sinks.

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Electrical Conductors and Insulators

There are a number of standardised acrylic tubes, each fitted with a cap that conducts electricity. Inside each tube is an item or material – salty water, clear water, a steel fork, a plastic spoon, a graphite pencil. The idea is that some of the tubes will complete the circuit – and some will complete the circuit better than others. When the circuit is complete, a light goes on. For safety reasons, the activity is powered by a 9 volt battery. There is access to the battery from below, as it will need to be changed from time to time.

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Metal Detector

Children bring various objects near to the mounted metal detector to discover whether or not they are made of metal or contain metal. The more metal in an object the louder the detector will sound.

Pouring

There are three acrylic tubes. Each has a plate mid way along with a central hole in it. One tube has silicone oil which oozes through forming ribbons on the surface which quickly flatten out. One has water, which falls “flat”. The third has fine sand, which will form a cone shaped pile as it falls through the central hole.

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Rock Detective

Children examine rocks with and without the aid of the magnifying lenses. They do some identification and group the rocks by colour and texture. Spare magnifying lenses will be available.

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Shaker

Children will be presented with three acrylic tubes. In the first there is sand and a ball bearing. Children work out how to bring the ball bearing from the bottom of the tube to the top by shaking it. The sand rolls down around the ball, while the ball “floats” to the top. In the second tube, there are balls of different sizes. We need to experiment to see whether they sort themselves by size when the tube is shaken. In the third tube, the balls are of two different colours but are all the same size.

Sieve

There are three acrylic tubes. Each has a sieving plate half way along. The size of the holes is graduated among the three tubes. All the tubes have beads of three grades. In the tube with the smallest hole size, only one ball gets through the sieve. In the tube with the largest holes, all three get through.

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Thermal Conductors and Insulators

There are a number of disks, made variously of wood, various metals, plastic, etc. On the opposite side of each disk is a piece of thermochromic paper protected with acrylic. Children test whether each material will conduct the heat of a hand. (There will also be one disk on which they can test the piece of thermochromic material through a thin protective layer.)

Video Microscope

This is a hand held video microscope which children use to examine any objects they choose. Children should not shine the light into their eyes.

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Vortex

A magnetic stirrer is used to create a vortex in each of two acrylic tubes. The first tube contains water, the second, mineral oil. Children explore the differences in phenomena between the two substances

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