Some children’s books about gravity: Gravity is a Mystery, The Day Katie McAvity Turned Off GravityĪll activities on Buggy and Buddy are activities I feel are safe for my own children.Make some wooden ramps for toy cars and explore how different angles of the ramps affect the acceleration of the cars.Explore how air resistance affects gravity in this activity from Science Sparks.Use gravity to create this colorful art from Fun-a-Day!.Lucy and I came up with other forces that seemed to defy gravity- like static electricity holding strands of hair straight up in the air or how the hot air in a hot-air balloon can lift people off the ground.Įven more activities about gravity to inspire creativity and critical thinking for various ages. We talked about how the magnetic force between the paperclip and magnet were stronger than the pull of the Earth’s gravity on the paperclip, so the paperclip was able to remain in the air rather than fall back to the ground. The kids were very excited about this demonstration!
Slowly lift each paperclip toward each magnet until they are all suspended. Put the ruler with magnets back above the paperclips. All the paperclips fall to the ground! We talked about why the paperclips were not going up into the air after we removed the magnets.Ĩ. After taping the strings in place below the magnets, remove the ruler and observe what happens.
Tape the string in place onto the table (or whatever surface your activity is on). Take one paperclip and hold it until it’s just suspended below the first magnet. Take the paper clips and string off your dowel rod.Ħ. Suspend the ruler from two stacks of blocks, books, or other materials. (If you’re using a wooden ruler, you can tape the magnets to the top.)Ĥ. Next we explored how gravity can easily be overcome by other forces using magnets.ģ. No matter which way we tilted the dowel rod, the paperclips were still being pulled straight toward the Earth by gravity. The paperclips are being pulled toward the Earth by gravity, but they can’t fall because the string is holding them in the air. We talked about how the Earth’s gravity is what holds us and other things to the ground. Theo was amazed to observe that no matter which way he tilted the stick or how steep an angle he tilted the stick, the paperclips always pointed right down at the ground! Which direction do the paperclips point?.Lift up the dowel rod so the paperclips hang from the string. Then tie the string onto a small dowel rod or stick.Ģ. Start by tying some paperclips to pieces of string. Never allow any child under 3 to use magnets. NEVER leave any child unattended with magnets. Important: Not only are small magnets choking hazards, but magnet ingestions pose a serious threat to the health of children. Blocks, books, or other material for stacking.Metal ruler (or wooden ruler with tape).Strong magnets (Use either neodymium magnets.Earth’s gravity is what keeps you on the ground, what causes objects to fall, and is why the objects fall down rather than up! Materials for Gravity Experiment Gravity is a force that tries to pull two objects toward each other. Giving this freedom to children inspires them to make predictions and critically think about the world around them in a pressure-free setting. Whenever I invite my kids to participate in science activities, my main goal is NOT for them to master a set concept, but simply to allow them to explore the activity in their own way.