Lesson Videos List

Before presenting any of these lessons to students, be sure to read:
“How to Present a Rock-it Science Lesson.”

Difficulty Level: This indicates how difficult it is for the teacher to present the lesson, not how hard it is for the student to do the experiment. Difficulty levels vary according to type of equipment needed, preparation time, and scarcity or expense of certain materials.

There are over 260 lessons, organized in these categories:

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Chemistry

BAD COOKIES
Students make several batches of cookies, each one omitting a different ingredient.
No Teacher Guide – Kitchen Chemistry Dessert Detectives Video 2011

LYE
Students experiment with lye, aluminum foil, sponge, hot dog, sulfuric acid, and sugar. Students experiment with the properties of lye, a strong base — how to handle it safely, how to measure it, and what happens when it’s mixed with other chemicals. They also try to solve the puzzle of why a solution inside a sealed bottle changes color when they shake it and then changes back again. This relates to bases, mixtures, solutions, chemical reactions, oxidation, heat and cold, using a digital scale, and safe handling of caustic chemicals. Difficulty: Medium
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Unedited Video 2010 – Observations

BOUNCY & STRETCHY GLUE 2009
Students discover a weird goop that acts as a solid and a liquid made from cornstarch. They compare it to rubber made from white glue and Boraxo (GAK). This relates to mixtures, solutions, chemical reactions, non-Newtonian fluids, viscosity, and elasticity. Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009

CALCIUM CARBIDE
Students experiment with smelly rocks that become fizzy when you add water, and then explode when you put a flame near it! This relates to chemical changes, solids, liquids, and gases, heat, light, and combustion. Difficulty: Medium
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Unedited Video 2010

CAPILLARY ACTION
Students make colored liquids climb upward, defying gravity.
Lesson Summary – Unedited Video 2011

CHARCOAL HEAT BAGS
Students mix together iron powder, activated charcoal, and salt water and notice how the temperature changes, with and without oxygen. This relates to air/fuel ratio, chemical changes, catalysts, solids, liquids, gases, heat, and combustion. Difficulty: Hard
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009

CHEMICAL REACTIONS TEEN
Students combine various substances and see what kind of reaction results.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2010

COLOR CHANGERS
Students discover that ordinary yellow paper can do extraordinary things. They draw on it with household ammonia, baking soda mix, and vinegar to develop a way to send secret messages. This relates to chemical changes, acids and bases, pH indicators, and evaporation. The 2013 version of the experiment uses turmeric to make the goldenrod paper. Color changing experiments were also used in a Teachers Workshop in 2008. Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Unedited Video 2013 – Parents Video 2013 – Teachers Workshop Video 2008 – Teachers Workshop Transcript 2008

COPPER PLATING TEEN
Students experiment with copper, acid, and electricity.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2010 – Observations

CORN STARCH MONSTERS
Students mix corn starch and water and come up with a material that behaves like a solid and a liquid at the same time. Then they watch it vibrate and turn into a monster! This relates to mixtures, solids and liquids, non-Newtonian fluids, and vibrations. Difficulty: Hard
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009

DISSOLVING STYROFOAM
Students learn how to dissolve styrofoam and what happens when you do.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2013 – Parents Video 2013

DISTILLATION
Students set up a still and see what they can distill out of a mixture.
No Teacher Guide – Full Video 2013 – Prep Video

DRY ICE
Students discover how to make a hollow ice egg, how soap bubbles can float in mid air, how to make fog, and how to make eerie noises. This relates to solids, liquids, gases, sublimation, condensation, dew point, freezing point, vibrations, clouds, greenhouse effect, and respiration. This is the most popular lesson in our curriculum! Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Dry Ice Extra 2009 – Dry Ice Demo 2007 – Demo 2007 Transcript Story Only
(Also see Fog & Static Electricity, which combines elements of this Dry Ice lesson and the Static Electricity lesson.)

EXPLODING BUBBLES
Students hold bubbles of hydrogen and oxygen in the palm of their hand and watch them explode when touched by a flame. This relates to liquids and gases, the chemical composition of water, and combustion. (This is a short lesson — about 30 minutes.) Difficulty: Medium
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Prep Video

EXPLODING FILM CANS
Students experiment with fuel-to-air ratios to find out which mixture will send a film can flying through the air. This relates to liquids and gases, air pressure, fuel-to-air ratio, Newton’s three laws of motion, and combustion. Difficulty: Hard
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009

EXPLOSIVE LIMIT
We’ll make some hydrogen and compare its ability to launch an object across the lab to that of other fuels. Students compare the explosive properties of hydrogen, acetylene, and propane. Keywords: Oxygen, Energy content, Fuel cell, Electrolytic cell, Catalyst, Bloom Box.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011

GAS MASKS
Students put different kinds of stinky stuff into bottles, then inhale the fumes through a gas mask to see which ones get through.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2013 – Parents Video 2013

GASOLINE ENGINES
In Part 1, students learn how gas engines work and how to operate them. In Part 2, They test a theory about making gas engines burn more efficiently. Keywords Part 1: Miles per gallon, Organic molecule, Heat of vaporization, Power, Work, Energy, Carnot Cycle, Air-fuel ratio, Compression ratio. Keywords Part 2: Control, Single variable, Double-blind test.
No Teacher Guide – Part 1 Unedited Video 2011 – Part 2 Unedited Video 2011

GLOW STICKS
Students discover how chemicals combine to create flourescence, and how temperature affects the brightness of the chemical. This relates to mixtures, solutions, chemical reactions, light frequency, wavelength, and fluorescence. Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009

GROW SNOW
Students add small amounts of water to two different kinds of crystals to see what happens. This relates to dissolving, mixtures, and states of matter. Note: This is a short lesson, only a half hour. Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009

GUNS IN SPACE
Can you shoot a gun in space? This one is about what conditions are required for a gun to fire.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2007 – Prep Demos 2008

HOT, COLD & FIZZY
Students discover that common chemicals can create a wide variety of results when they are mixed in a certain way. This relates to dissolving, chemical reactions, mixtures, exothermic reactions, endothermic reactions, acids, bases, and acid/base indicators. Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Teachers Video 2008

ICE CREAM
Students discover how to lower the freezing point of water enough so that their sample of ice cream becomes a solid. This relates to freezing point depression, solutions, melting point, freezing point, and temperature scales. Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009

JELLY JAM JAR JETS
Students create a jet engine in a glass jar and experiment with different kinds of fuel to see which ones work best. This relates to flash point, resonance, liquids and gases, air pressure, fuel-to-air ratio, and combustion. Difficulty: Hard
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009

LAUNCHING FILM CANS 2013
Mix chemicals together to see if they fizz enough to blow the lid off a film can and then compare that to dry ice and hot water. This relates to chemical reactions, carbon dioxide, pressure, and sublimation. Difficulty: Easy
(Teen version is “Conservation of Momentum.)
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2013

DENSITY COLUMNS
Students discover how liquids of different densities interact, like lava lamps, and how objects of different densities float in a multi-layered liquid. This relates to properties of matter, liquids, and density. Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Unedited Video #1 2013 – Unedited Video #2 2013 – Observations

MENTOS AND SODA (Temperature)
Students experiment with sodas of different temperatures to see which ones make the highest fountain.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2009

MENTOS AND SODA (Nozzles)
Students experiment with different kinds of nozzles to see which one will produce the highest “fountain” from their soda bottle. This relates to liquids, gases, states of matter, compression of air, and carbon dioxide. Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2010

OSMOSIS AND SLIME
Students combine soap and glue to make slime, then add table salt to see how water is absorbed and released by it. This relates to solids, liquids, states of matter, solutions, differing concentrations, and water transport in cells. Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Slime Video 2008 – Slime Video 2010

PAPERMAKING
Students make paper in a blender, then decorate it.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2013

PLASTER OF PARIS
Students soak gauze in plaster and put casts on each others’ wrists. Then they make clay molds and pour plaster into them. Before the end of class, the instructor helps the students cut off their casts.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011

POPCORN
Students make several batches of popcorn to compare different brands and the effects of different amounts of moisture.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011

REMOVING GRAFFITI
Students test various chemicals to see which ones will remove graffiti.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2013

ROAD FLARES
Students learn how to safely ignite and extinguish a road flare. Then they empty out the contents and filter it.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2010

HYDROPHOBIC SAND
Students explore the fun properties of oil and water together and experience getting their hands wet and dry at the same time. This relates to solids, liquids, solutions, molecules, and hydrophilic and hydrophobic substances. Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2010

SULFURIC ACID
Students try to neutralize sulfuric acid with water, then with baking soda.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2010

YEASTIE BEASTIES
Students watch what happens when a mixture containing yeast starts to expand.
href=”https://youtu.be/isaE0HtId8k”>Rough Edited Video 2014 – Unedited Video 2010 – Lesson Summary 2014 – Observations 2010

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Earth Science

AIRFOILS
Students examine the design of an airplane wing, then build structures that will spin when they point a leafblower at them. (SEE ALSO “Windmills TEEN 2011)
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2013

AIR TUBES
Students find out how fabric behaves when air blows across it.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2010

BISMUTH
Students explore the properties of bismuth by melting it.
Lesson Summary – Unedited Video 2011

CENTER OF GRAVITY
Students find the balance points of various objects.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011 – Weekly Email 2021

CLOUD CHAMBERS
Students create contrails in a super-saturated solution.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011

COMPASSES
Students build a compass, then pair up. One person puts a bag over their head so they can only see the compass they’re holding, while their partner gives them directions to a destination.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2013 – Parents Video 2013

CONSERVATION OF MASS
Students use delicate balances to detect the difference in weight between an unlit match and one that’s been burned.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2012

DENSITY CUBES
Students examine 1″ cubes of various materials to compare their density.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2013

EARTHQUAKES
Students build Lego structures, then test them on a shaking table to see which designs would be best for withstanding an earthquake. This relates to geology, earth science, plate tectonics, vibration, and structural integrity. Difficulty: Hard. (This lesson is rated “Hard” because it uses a motorized shaking table. But you can make it an “Easy” lesson by letting the students shake the platform themselves instead of building the motorized version.)
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2012

EROSION
Students recreate the effects of erosion using a sandblaster and a pressure washer.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2010

EXTREME SHARPNESS
Students experiment with various types of sharp blades
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011 (No Audio)

FILTERS
Students filter various solutions in order to get clean water.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2012

CHAIN REACTIONS
Students create a fission reaction using mousetraps and ping pong balls.
Documentation: Filmed 3/17/2011; length 1 hr; No DVD
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011

FIZZY ALCOHOL
Students heat and cool gas to see how its volume changes.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2012

GEIGER COUNTERS
Students use geiger counters to detect radiation from fiesta ware.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2012

GREENHOUSE EFFECT
Students find out how much carbon dioxide there is in the air and how much of a warming effect it has. Keywords: Carbon dioxide, Infrared, Energy, Temperature, Specific heat, Phase change, Heat of fusion, Heat of vaporization.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011– Unedited Video 2008 – Global Warming DEMO 2008

HARDNESS TESTING
Students determine the comparative hardness of various materials.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2013

HOT AIR BALLOONS
Students discover how hot air rises and why the air at the top of mountains isn’t hot. This relates to weather, gases, air pressure, convection, and properties of matter. Difficulty: Medium
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009

HUMIDITY
Students explore the difference in temperature between wet/ dry and sunlit/shady surfaces. They walk through a giant plastic bag in the sunlight, then hose it down with water to see how different it feels. They encase one hand in a plastic bag and go out in the sun. They seal some freshly-picked green leaves in a plastic bag and put it in the sun.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2010 (Teen)

MELTING TIN
It is often a very bad idea to dump molten metal into water… so that’s exactly what we are going to do! Students melt tin and pour it into water to see how it changes its shape. Keywords: Sodium reaction with water, Sudden cooling, Zinc melting point, Aluminum, Woods metal.
Documentation: Filmed 11/2/11; length 1 hr; No DVD
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011

NEEDLE THROUGH A PENNY
Students drive nails into wood, plastic straws into styrofoam, and a needle through a penny.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2013

OBJECTS THE SAME
Students are presented with a group of different objects and they have to figure out what they all have in common.
Lesson Summary – Unedited Video 2011

SANDCASTING
Students mold all kinds of objects using sand molds and wax.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2013 – Parents Video 2013

SEA LEVEL RISE
Students test the theory that global warming will result in rising sea levels.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2010 (No audio after 19 minutes)

SHARP KNIVES
Students try various kinds of cutting blades, examine them under a microscope, and learn how to sharpen them on a block.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2015 (Teen)

SLOW FALLING PAPER
Students drop different paper shapes from a high ladder to see which shape drops most slowly. (Teen version is “Spiral Flyers.”)
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011 – Unedited Video 2012 (Using balloon to lift, Teen)

SMOKE RINGS
Students discover a way to make a puff of air travel across the classroom with amazing efficiency. We then use stage fog to create smoke rings of many sizes. This relates to weather, convection, and properties of matter. Difficulty: Medium
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Prep Video

SODIUM AND MAGNESIUM
Instructor demonstrates metallic sodium burning in water, then students burn magnesium with propane torches.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2014 – Unedited Video 2014 – Observations

SOLAR SYSTEM
Students swing a tennis ball on the end of a rope to see how planets stay in their orbits. Then they create a scale model of our solar system outdoors and experience what gravity feels like on each planet.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2013 – Solar System Prep Video

SPARKS, ROCKS, AND STEEL
Students try to generate sparks first with rocks and steel, then with a grinding wheel.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2014 – Unedited Video 2014 (No Audio) – Observations

WONKY BALLS
Students try various ways of drawing a spiral with chalk on the floor. Then they modify a ball to make it roll in a spiral.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011

STRETCHING STEEL
Students test the tensile strength of steel.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2012

TORNADOES
Students make tornadoes in a bottle and try different configurations to see which ones make the best tornadoes. This relates to magnetic fields, charged particles, wind, air pressure, and tornadoes. Difficulty: Medium
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Observations

VACUUM
A vacuum pump is used to make individual vacuum chambers for each student to experiment with. They put various objects into the chambers to see how they react to the vacuum.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2012

WATER POWER
Students use a pressure washer to turn a wheel, then build a wheel of their own.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2010 Part 1 – Unedited Video2010 Part 2 – Unedited Video 2008

WHY IS THE SKY BLUE
Students test various theories about what makes the sky blue, using a van de graaf, ultraviolet light, and bubbles in water. (Includes a prep video.)
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2012 – Prep Video

WIND CHILL FACTOR
Students discover how evaporation of water and rubbing alcohol can feel in the wind. They also make their own device to measure wind speed (a pinwheel). This relates to humidity, wet and dry bulb temperature, evaporation, evaporative cooling, and simple machines. Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009

WINDMILLS
Students build windmills and test the design of their propellers using a leaf blower. First part of the lesson is mostly building; second part is testing and refining the design. (SEE ALSO “Airfoils TEEN 2013.”)
Lesson Summary – Unedited Video 2011 Part 1 – Unedited Video 2011 Part 2

WIND SUCKS
Students use leaf blowers to explore the effects of high-speed air.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2012

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Electricity

BURNING THINGS WITH ELECTRICITY and OIL LAMPS
Students discover how certain materials glow when electricity flows through them. They then try burning different kinds of oils to see which one makes the best oil lamp. This relates to electricity, voltage, amperage, resistance, heat, light, combustion, and materials. Difficulty: Hard.
Story: The Darkened Castle — Evil Mister Fred’s minions smashed all the lights in the king’s castle.
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009

CAPACITORS
Students experiment with several different sizes of capacitors to discover how electrical charge can be stored and released, and what happens if you short out a capacitor. This relates to electricity, voltage, amperage, resistance, heat, capacitors, leyden jars, static electricity, and storing charge. Difficulty: Medium
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Observations

ELECTRICITY
Students make an electric circuit using rolled-up aluminum foil and use it to power small lights and doorbells.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2012

ELECTROPHORUS (Electroscopes & Electrophoresis)
Students try to create perpetual energy using static electricity.
Story: “Jack & Jill, Floating Detectives” — J&J live in the future where people can make themselves float by increasing the static charge on the earth. EMF’s minions are digging tunnels under their cities and stealing their stuff.
Documentation: Filmed 11/21/2009; length 42 min.; DVD
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Observations

FOAM CUTTERS
Students build a simple device that uses electricity to cut patterns in foam. This relates to electricity, voltage, amperage, resistance, heat, and materials. Difficulty: Hard.
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009– Prep Video 2012 – Weekly Email 2021

STATIC ELECTRICITY AND FOG
This lesson is a variation of our “Dry Ice” lesson that also includes part of our “Static Electricity” lesson. Students explore the properties of dry ice, including making fog. They also get to “magically” disperse the fog with static electricity by simply pointing their finger at it. This relates to solids, liquids, gases, sublimation, condensation, dew point, freezing point, vibrations, clouds, greenhouse effect, respiration, and static electricity. Difficulty: Hard.
(See newer version of this lesson “Making Killing Fog” 2011 below.)
Story: Jack & Jill and the Cavern of Youth — J&J find a cavern where everyone starts aging backwards.
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Making Killing Fog 2011 UNEDITED – Unedited Video 2011 (Teen) – Mr.Mac 2005 (Teen)

HAND CRANK ELECTRICITY
Students make electricity with their own muscle power and use it to run motors, fans, and doorbells. This relates to electricity, magnetism, energy, electromagnets, torque, vibrations, and sound. Difficulty: Hard.
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Parents Video 2013

INDUCTORS
Students observe how small disc magnets react to the giant electromagnet under the table. Then they experiment with capacitors, electromagnets, and ignition coils.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2010

LIGHTNING BOLTS
Students build objects that they think can be burned with electricity, then test them with the tesla coil.
Lesson Summary – Unedited Video 2012

STATIC ELECTRICITY
Students learn about thunder, lightning, and electrons. They discover how to separate a mixture of salt and pepper, lightning safety, and with one hair-raising experience, they discover the nature of static electricity. This relates to weather, lightning safety, electrons, positive and negative charges, voltage, lightning bolts, and cloud formation.
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Unedited Video 2012

STATIC LEVITATION
Students use static electricity to make slender aluminum foil shapes float in the air. (This version does not include the Van de Graaf wands.)
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011 – PVC Pipe Prep

STATIC MOTORS
A variation of the “Static Electricity” lesson. Students use the Van de Graaf generator and balloons, then make a spinning motor atop a plastic cup.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011

SUMO ROBOTS
Build a motorized robot and compete to push the other robots off the mat.
Story: Jack & Jill and the Minion Ice Cream — Evil Mister Fred sells delicious ice cream that makes everyone in the country drugged.
Teacher Guide – Full Video 2010 – Observations

TESLA COIL MONSTERS
Make a Monster that Shoots Sparks — Use aluminum tape and pipe cleaners to convert a plastic bottle or tape reel into a monster that shoots sparks out of its eyes. (NOTE: The video and Teacher Guide are called “Jacob’s Ladder with Tesla Coil.” Jacob’s Ladder is a demo which is no longer included in the Tesla Coil lesson.)
Story: Evil Mister Fred’s Wicked Circus — EMF locks all the people into his circus tent, then unleashes vicious animals on them.
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Unedited Video 2008, Teen – Unedited Video 2010, Teen (Experiment only) – Prep Videos 2008 – Short Experiment Clip 2014
Fun with a Tabletop Tesla Coil Video

TRANSFORMERS TEEN
Students experiment with transformers and measure the electrical current.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2010 – Observations

UNWISE MICROWAVE STUFF
Students find out what happens when you put the wrong things in a microwave oven. An exhaust fan was attached to the back of the microwave, and a video camera was used to project an image of the microwave interior onto a screen so the students could see what was happening. Part 1 items include marshmallows, neon lights, CDs, a lighted candle, a lightbulb, and a fluorescent tube. Part 2 includes grapes, a water balloon, paper clips, graphite fibers, steel wool, mylar, pipe cleaners, an egg, and a bar of soap.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2009 Part 1 – Unedited Video 2009 Part 2 – Observations

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Life Science

3D ILLUSIONS
Students look at red-and-blue 3D pictures, then create their own with colored pens.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2013

DISEASE SPREADING
Students discover how quickly a “disease” can spread through their pets and then they try to determine which pet had the disease first. This relates to pollution, bacterial infection prevention, acid/base indicators, epidemiology, and logic. Difficulty: Easy (In 2020, Mr. Mac did an Online version of this lesson during Covid-19. See links below.)
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Online 2020 Intro Video – Online 2020 Experiment Video

DNA
Students squish various kinds of fruit, then combine the pulp with chemicals and filter it to extract the DNA. This relates to DNA, cell structure, osmotic pressure, chemistry, and filtration. Difficulty: Medium
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Observations

EYEBALLS
Students explore how their eyes perceive things using a glass of water, a magnifying glass, and a balloon.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2010

FINGERPRINTS
Students learn how to take their own fingerprints. They also learn how to interpret the patterns. (Two classes videoed, plus a very short video of materials.)
No Teacher Guide – Class 1 Unedited Video 2012 – Class 2 Unedited Video 2012 – Materials

HEART PUMPS
Experiment with pumps and one-way valves to simulate a beating heart. This relates to structure and function of the heart and lungs, circulatory system, oxygen exchange, and one-way valves. Difficulty: Easy.
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2011

OWL PELLETS
Students use bleach to dissolve owl pellets and retrieve the tiny bones.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2010

TASTE BUDS AND PUPILS
Students try to map the taste receptors on their tongues, then explore how their pupils respond to different kinds of light.
See also “Tricking Your Senses.”
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2013

TRICKING YOUR EYES
Make Optical Illusions — Fool your brain with colors and lights.
Story: This lesson does not have a story, just a slide show. (The images used in the slide show are on Estelle’s archive hard drive “Rock-it Science 1.”)
See also “Tricking Your Senses.”
Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009

TRICKING YOUR SENSES
Tricking your eyes with colored light, your ears with directionality, your nose with smells, and your hands with hot and cold water.
See also: “Tricking Your Eyes” and “Taste Buds and Pupils.”
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2013 – Parents Video 2013

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Light & Heat

BAKED ALASKA
Students make the dessert “Baked Alaska” to see how something cold can survive in an oven. (Bad audio sync)
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011

BENDING LIGHT
Discover how to use a laser pen to magnify a butterfly’s wing, insect legs, and a bug’s abdomen one thousand times. This relates to light, coherence, diffraction, magnification, fiber optics, and microscopy. Difficulty: Medium
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009
See Also: “Bending Light Aquarium 2013” (short clip)

BIMETALLIC SPRINGS
Students explore the properties of bimetallic springs when exposed to heat.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2012

BLACK LIGHT (similar to “Colored Lights & Paints”)
Transform colors with UV Light — Create artwork, then watch it change into something else.
Story: Jack & Jill and the Green Bunnyrabbits — EMF is tormenting the Kick-mes with green bunnyrabbits.
Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009

BLOCKING UV LIGHT TEEN 2012
Students test various methods of blocking UV light.
Documentation: Filmed 10/10/12; length 1 hr; No DVD
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2012

BLOWING GLASS
Students experiment with the properties of glass — what it’s made of, how it behaves when subjected to heat and cold, and how to manipulate it into different shapes. This relates to chemical compounds, heat, surface tension, states of matter, elasticity, and brittleness. Difficulty: Hard.
(Younger students version is “Melting Glass.”)
Trailer – Teacher Guide, Teen – Full Video 2009, Teen – Unedited Video 2011 (Younger kids)

BOILING POINT ELEVATION
Students manipulate the boiling point of water by adding various amounts of salt and alcohol.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2012

BOIL WATER IN A CUP
Students experiment with how water behaves when it gets hot. First they boil water in a metal cup, then in a paper cup, a plastic cup, a styrofoam cup, and even a leaf! This relates to static charge, evaporation, and cloud formation; the difference between how water turns into a vapor as clouds form, compared with how it behaves when you boil it; and the process of heat transfer in various materials. Difficulty: Medium
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009

BURNING MAGNESIUM
Students scrape off chips of magnesium, then make sparks to ignite it. Then they use a torch to ignite it on dry ice. They also attempt to burn gunpowder between two blocks of dry ice.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2012

BURNING MONEY
Discover a way to light paper on fire with lots of flames, but come out completely unburned. This relates to combustion, temperature, chemistry, solutions, saturation, and evaporation. Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2010

CALORIES IN FOOD
Students burn foods to discover how many calories they contain.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2012

CANDLE IN A JAR
Students use a jar to snuff out candles in a pan of water and see how high the water rises in the jar when the candles go out. This relates to liquids, gases, atmospheric pressure, temperature, and combustion. Difficulty: Easy
(See also “How Gases Change Size 2007.”)
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – How Gases Change Size Demo 2007

COLORED FLAMES
Students see how different elements create different colors when burned.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011

COLORED LIGHTS AND PAINTS
(Similar to “Black Light,” but this lesson uses multi-colored flashlights instead of black light.) Students discover the nature of additive and subtractive color through the use of filters and pigments. This only works in a darkened room. This relates to light frequency and wavelength. Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009

CURVED MIRRORS
Archimedes supposedly set an enemy ship on fire by reflecting sunlight off his army’s shiny shields. Is it possible?
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011

CUTTING TORCH
Steel has one strange chemical property that lets us cut it with fire. You’ll experiment with different ways to cut steel to find out which one is the easiest. Students try to cut through aluminum and steel rods using files and hacksaws. Then they use acetylene torches to cut through metal. Keywords: Melting Point, Combustion, Exothermic reaction, Acetylene, Oxygen.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011

EGG IN A JAR
Make an Egg Squeeze into a Jar — Will a water balloon also fit through? NOTE: Newer version (2013) of this lesson uses small water balloons instead of eggs.
(See also “How Gases Change Size 2007.”)
Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Unedited Video 2013

EXPLODING CANDY
Students burn various kinds of candy in test tubes to see which ones burn best.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011

FIRE DRILLS
Create Smoke — Use skateboard wheels plus a bow and arrow and other forms of friction to start a fire.
Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Unedited Video 2013 – Unedited Video 2011 (Teen)

FIREWALKING
Students create a bed of hot coals, then place various kinds of metal plates and rocks on top, then see if a hot dog sizzles when placed on each of the items.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011

FLAMES
Discover ways to make flames produce very bright light with thorium, acetylene, oxygen, limestone, and propane. Keywords: thorium,limelight, ultraviolet, acetylene, oxygen, propane
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011

FLASH PAPER AND POWDERS
Students experiment with chemicals that can change the way paper burns. Then they find out which powders to NOT use to put out a kitchen fire! This relates to chemistry, solutions, saturation, evaporation, heat, light, combustion, and fire safety. Difficulty: Medium
(The TEEN version is “Flash Powder Teen.”
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Things That Burn 2008 Age 5-8 – Things That Burn 2008 Age 7-12 – How to Light a Match – Tiki Torch Prep – Full Video 2013 (Teen) – Prep Video (Teen)
This video clip (Teen) was used as a Summer Camp promo.

FLASH PAPER PING PONG
Grind up ping pong balls to make flammable paper.
Story — “Attack on the Underwater City” — J&J live in an underwater dome and EMF has a submarine.
Documentation: Filmed 10/28/2010; length 32 min; DVD
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2010 – Intro & Story Summary

FOOSH AND BOOM!
Students make all kinds of explosions using caps, party poppers, and other chemicals. This relates to chemistry, heat, light, and combustion.) Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2012 – Unedited Video 2010 (Teen)

FRESNEL LENSES VS. SOLAR PANELS
Students find out which produces more power from the sun — fresnel lenses or solar panels.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011

FROST
Using a polarizing filter, tudents watch as frost crystals form on a glass surface.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2014

HEAT CONDUCTION LIQUID CRYSTALS
Students experiment with a material that changes colors when the temperature changes, trying different kinds of insulation to see which ones will block the heat source. This relates to heat conduction, specific heat, colors, interference of light waves, electricity, the chemistry of liquid crystals, and properties of insulators.
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Unedited Video 2012 (Teen)

HEAT ENGINES
Using heat differential to run an engine. (Intermittent static in audio.)
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011

HEAT TREATING METALS (2-Week Lesson)
Students heat various metals to see if that changes their properties, such as flexibility and brittleness.
Documentation: Filmed 1/20/11; length 1 hr; No DVD
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011 (Week 1) – Unedited Video 2011 (Week 2)

HOW GASES CHANGE SIZE
Candle in a Jar, Egg in a Jar, and Collapsing Soda Can. (NOTE: This was one of the first lessons filmed for the web site in 2007, as a demo only. There are no students in it. (“Candle in a Jar” and “Egg in a Jar” have been updated since then.)
Teacher Guide – Full Video 2007

LASERS AND MIRRORS
Students use their reflections in plastic mirrors to discover how to make a million eyes, a “tunnel” through the desk, periscopes, kaleidoscopes, and how “fun house” mirrors work. A laser is used to show the light path. This lesson only works in rooms that can be darkened. This relates to reflection, refraction, interference, rainbows, lasers, light waves, and color. Difficulty: Medium
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009

LIQUID NITROGEN
Students use liquid nitrogen to freeze things to 300 degrees below zero, and weird things happen! This relates to liquid nitrogen, liquids and gases, freezing, evaporation, cryogenic, absolute zero, fog, boiling, Leidenfrost effect, and lab safety. Difficulty: Medium
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2011 – Partial Unedited Video 2011 (Teen)

MAKING CANDLES
Students mess around with melted wax, then make dipped candles.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011

MATCH ROCKETS
Students make rockets with matches and aluminum foil.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2012

MELTING FOOD
Students use hot air guns to melt various foods.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011

MELTING PLASTICS
Cook all kinds of plastics with a hot air gun to see which ones melt, which ones bubble, which ones shrink, and which ones do nothing. This relates to melting point, temperature, freezing point, and convection. Difficulty: Hard.
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2013 – Unedited Video 2011 – Unedited Video 2013 (Teen)

MICROSCOPES
Students magnify things, and the instructor uses a video projector to show microscopic images. Teen version includes teens preparing slides.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011 – Unedited Video 2013 (Teen)

MIRROR MYLAR MASKS
Students experiment with the reflective properties of flexible mirrors and make a one-way mask that they can see through. This relates to light, reflection and transmission. Difficulty: Easy
(See also “Pinhole Masks.” The second half of this lesson includes Mirror Mylar Masks.)
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Intro Partial 2009 – Observations

MOIRE PATTERNS
Students use acetate overlays to make optical illusions with moire patterns.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2014

PERISCOPES
Students fool around with multiple mirrors, then build a periscope with a cardboard tube.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011

PINHOLE MASKS
Students create masks that have no eye holes, only tiny pinholes to see through. Then they see how the number and position of pinholes changes their view. This relates to transmission of light, particles versus waves, and interference patterns. (The second half of this lesson includes Mirror Mylar Masks.) Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2010

POLARIZED LIGHT
Students experiment with polarizing filters, making images disappear and reappear again as if by magic. This relates to transmission of light, light waves, filters, polarization, and electromagnetic radiation. Difficulty: Hard.
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009

RAINBOWS
Students learn various ways to make rainbows.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2012

REFRACTION OF LIGHT
Students explore the illusions created by refraction of light.
Documentation: Filmed 9/18/13; length 1 hr; No DVD
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2013

SHRINKING PLASTIC
Students discover how heat makes plastics return to their original shape. This relates to structure of molecules, heat, and states of matter. Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009

THERMITE
Students make thermite and ignite it to transform iron oxide into iron.
Lesson Summary – Unedited Video 2011

SOLAR FURNACES
Students discover how light travels through lenses and how lenses can be used to burn things with sunlight. This relates to heat, light, lenses, focal point, solar energy, and combustion. Difficulty: Hard.
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Unedited Video 2008 (Teen)

SPECTROSCOPES
Students use diffraction grating to build a spectroscope.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011

STEAM ENGINES
Students use a curved copper tube to make a steam engine that can power a small boat.
DVD
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2010 Pt. 1 – Unedited Video 2010 Pt. 2 – Observations

STROBE LIGHTS
Students use strobe lights to explore optical illusions such as making a stream of moving water appear to stand still.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2013

SUPER COOLED WATER
(BAD AUDIO — First 20 minutes has a steady buzz instead of audio. The rest of the video is okay.) — Students make super-cooled water inside a test tube by placing it into a container of rock salt and ice, then watch it freeze in seconds when a small piece of ice is dropped in.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011

THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY
Students test various materials by placing them on dry ice to see which is the best insulator. This relates to temperature, heat, cold, radiation, convection, conduction, insulators, and properties of matter.
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009

WIRE WITH A MEMORY
Students experiment with weird wire that remembers its original shape. Even when you heat it, stretch it, cool it, and twist it, it goes right back to its original shape. This relates to atoms, crystals, density, alloys, heat, cold, expansion, contraction, and properties of metals. Difficulty: Hard.
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009

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Magnetism

CURIE EFFECT
Students learn various ways of making magnets and then demagnetizing them using temperature.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2012

ELECTRIC MOTOR
Students build motors using batteries and magnets. (Beginning of unedited video shows all the materials used in the experiment.)
No Teacher Guide – Experiment – Story – Unedited Video 2012 –
Electric Motors Weekly Email 2021

ELECTROMAGNETS
Students build an electromagnet with a large wire-wrapped nail and a battery. Then they add Christmas lights to the circuit and see what happens. Then they see how small disc magnets and compasses respond to the giant electromagnet under the table.
No Teacher Guide – ​Unedited Video 2010

LEVITATING MAGNETS
Discover how they can make trains run at high speeds without ever touching the ground… have you ever wondered how they stop? Students use magnetism to make an object hover and then spin. Keywords: Unstable force balance, Electron spin, Magnetic field, Perpetual motion, Friction, Gyroscope.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011

MAGNETIC CREATURES
Students discover all the weird things that magnets can do. Students make their own weird creature that moves magnetically through the habitat they create. This relates to magnetic fields, electrons, magnetic materials, attraction and repulsion, and north versus south poles.
Trailer – Teacher Guide 2009 – Full Video 2009

MAGNETIC PENDULUMS
Students build a pendulum that does anything but swing back and forth! This relates to magnetic repulsion, magnetic attraction, inertia, potential energy, kinetic energy. Difficulty: Easy when using low temperature glue guns.
This is a later version of “Magnetic Pendulums.”
Trailer – Teacher Guide 2012 – Full Video 2012 – Teacher Guide 2009 – Full Video 2009 – Weekly Email 2021

SUPER STRONG MAGNETS
Students manipulate magnets in surprising ways to make them more powerful than they actually are. This relates to magnetic fields, electrons, magnetic materials, attraction and repulsion, and north versus south poles. Difficulty: Medium
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2011 – Unedited Video 2013 (Teen) – Parents Video 2013 (Teen)
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Motion

ANGLE OF INCIDENCE
Students shoot balls at an angled surface to see which direction they go when they bounce off.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2010 (No audio)

BALLISTA
Students launch projectiles of various kinds using their own physical strength with large crossbows, aiming at stacks of boxes. Then they try the same thing outdoors with the giant ballista. (The very end of the video shows what the indoor “arrows” are made of.)
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2012

BALLOON ROCKETS, GUIDED
Students experiment with different ways of shooting a balloon like a missile and try to hit a target. This relates to potential and kinetic energy, and Newton’s three laws of motion. Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide 2011 – Full Video 2011 – Balloon Rockets 2009 – Teacher Guide 2009 – PVC Pipe Prep

BALLOON ROCKETS WITH NOZZLES
Students try to make balloons hover in the air after being launched.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2012

BASEBALL BAT MACHINE
Students try to hit a baseball with a baseball bat attached to the large trebuchet.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2007

BOLOS & TREBUCHETS
Students try to predict the path of a projectile by swinging it at the end of a rope and choosing how fast to swing it and when to release it, in order to make it fly highest and farthest. They also get to see how the weight of an object affects its flight. This relates to centrifugal force, weight, velocity, momentum, and Newton’s three laws of motion. Difficulty: Medium
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2011 – Unedited Video 2010 (Teen)

BOOMERANGS
Students learn about the aerodynamics of boomerangs, then build a throwing device of their own design, using jumbo craft sticks.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2010

CARTESIAN DIVERS
Students create a chamber with a small “creature” inside that will dive to the bottom or rise to the top seemingly by magic. This relates to properties of matter, liquids, gases, air pressure, and compressibility of air versus water. Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009

CONSERVATION OF MOMENTUM
This is the Teen version of “Launching Film Cans.” Students use film can launchers with cigarette lighters instead of breath spray and try various amounts of gas. Then they add a small ball to the film can to see if they can increase its velocity.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2012

FRISBEES & CURVEBALL 2010
Use Frisbees and Ball Launchers — See how flying objects curve.
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2010

GIGANTIC BUBBLES
Students try making bubbles in their hands, on the tabletop, and outdoors. This is related to buoyancy, air convection, reflection of light, evaporation, and light interference. Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Gigantic Bubbles with Hula Hoops Short Video

BUOYANCY
Students discover how to make neutrally buoyant helium balloons maneuver through suspended hula-hoops and they will see what keeps airplanes up in the air. This relates to density, mass, volume, adhesion, and lift. Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Unedited Video 2010 – Observations

HOVERCRAFT
Students use balloons and CDs to create a hovercraft that will slide effortlessly across the table. This relates to air pressure, surface area, friction, balance, and air bearings. Difficulty: Medium
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Prep Video 2009 – Parents Video 2013

HULA HOOPS AND GYROSCOPES
Students spin ropes and chains, twirl various sizes of hula hoops on their bodies, roll them around on the ground, and hang them on a rod and try to spin them. They also use the bicycle wheel gyroscope.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2010

IRISH SPINNERS
Students learn how energy can be transferred from one part of a device to another part, or to change into a different kind of energy. They build a device that transforms a spinning motion into an up-and-down motion.
(See also “Resonant Frequencies.”)
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2012

LAUNCHING WATER BALLOONS
Students launch water balloons with a giant slingshot to see which ones go farthest. (NOTE: The apparatus in this video was only used once because the ropes tended to get tangled. Completely new launching frames were designed for the Genentech lessons.)
Trailer – Teacher Guide 2011 – Full Video 2011 – Unedited Video 2013

LOOP-DE-LOOP-FLYERS
Students experiment with different shapes to see which ones are the best for flying in loops rather than in a straight line. This relates to air pressure, surface area, friction, lift, and drag. Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009

MARSHMALLOW CANNONS 2009
Make a Cannon — Shoot Marshmallows around corners. (Note: This lesson is very prep-intensive.)
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Bullet Points – Full Video 2009 – PVC Pipe Prep

MOUSETRAPS JUMPING FROG
Students use mousetraps to launch projectiles.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011

PADDLEWHEEL BOATS
Students build paddlewheel boats with styrofoam trays and test them in a wading pool.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2013 – Parents Video 2013

PAINTBALL CANNON
Students shoot paintballs at a falling teddy bear. (There’s a prep video showing how the paintball cannon works, but there’s no audio. A shorter explanation is included in the video “John McChesney Demonstrates Science Gear.”)
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2012 – Prep Video 2012 – Science Gear Prep Videos 2008

PAPER AIRPLANES
Students build paper airplanes with a small magnet that attaches them all to a rope. Instead of throwing the airplanes, a tug on the rope releases all the airplanes at once to see how far they glide.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2015

PARACHUTES
Make Parachutes — Launch them into the sky and see how long they stay up. (In this lesson, parachutes are launched upward through a giant bendy tube.)
Teacher Guide 2010 – Full Video 2010 – Unedited Video 2013

PENDULUMS – SWINGS
Students explore how the length of a pendulum affects its period.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2012

POPGUNS
Students experiment with the power of compressed air and build a launcher that will send a cork flying across the room. This relates to air pressure, friction, sound, and Newton’s Three Laws of Motion. Difficulty: Medium
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2010 – Prep Video 2010 – PVC Pipe Prep – Observations

PUDDLE JUMPERS
Students experiment with different types of helicopter blade designs to see which ones provide the greatest lift and speed. This relates to air pressure, surface area, friction, lift, and drag. Difficulty: Medium
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2010 – Unedited Video 2009

RAMP RACES
Students roll all kinds of balls, bottles, and hoops down ramps to see how they travel.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2013

RESONANT FREQUENCIES
Similar to the “Irish Spinners” lesson. Instructor demoes auditory and visual feedback and “stops” moving objects with a strobe light. Students build Irish Spinners and modify the spring to see how that affects the bounce/spin cycle.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2010

ROCKET ENGINES
Students attach a model rocket engine to a bicycle wheel and see how long it spins.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011

SLINKIES — Students build ramps and stairs for slinkies to descend on.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2010 – Observations

SLOW MARBLES (SLOW-ROLL MAZE)
Make marbles roll through a tilted maze as slowly as possible.
Lesson Summary – Full Video 2012 – Unedited Video 2010

SPIN ART
Create artwork on a spinning disk.
Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Newer Story

STOMP ROCKETS
Shoot Stomp Rockets — Compare four different rocket shapes to see which one flies the farthest.
Teacher Guide – Full Video 2011 – Unedited Video 2012 (Teen) – Prep Video

STRAW ROCKETS
Students experiment with two different ways of making a straw shoot through the air. This relates to air pressure, elastic energy, center of gravity, air friction, and Newton’s three laws of motion. Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – PVC Pipe Prep

STRING CLIMBERS
Students make a monster on a paper plate, then use two lengths of ribbon to make it climb to the ceiling.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2013 – Parents Video 2013 – Unedited video 2008

TABLECLOTH PULL
Students use inertia to make some things move while others stand still. This includes yanking a tablecloth out from under a set of dishes without breaking them. This relates to friction and inertia. Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Parents Video 2013

TOPS
Students experiment with the properties of gyroscopic tops, first feeling a big one push and pull against them, then making a small one of their own. This relates to balance, center of mass, precession, and conservation of momentum. Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide 2009 – 2009 Full Video – 2011 Unedited Video

WATER BOTTLE ROCKETS
Students launch water bottles with bicycle pumps and discover how to make them go higher and farther by adding weight! This is an outdoor activity. This experiment demonstrates Newton’s laws of motion in a way that they will not forget. This relates to pressure, friction, air drag, momentum, compression of air, energy storage, Newton’s three laws of motion, and teamwork. Difficulty: Hard
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2011 – Prep Video 2011 – Unedited Video 2009

WATER POWERED ROCKET CARS
This is literally a drag-racer. Use water and air pressure to make your car go as far as possible. This is an outdoor activity. This relates to pressure, friction, air drag, momentum, compression of air, energy storage, Newton’s three laws of motion, and teamwork. Difficulty: Hard
Trailer – Teacher Guide 2012 – Full Video 2012 – Unedited Video 2013 – PVC Pipe Prep
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Simple Machines

CATAPULTS
Students discover the best way to launch plastic grapes with a catapult that converts mechanical energy into kinetic energy. This relates to kinetic and potential energy, simple machines, levers, drag, and Newton’s laws of motion. Difficulty: Hard
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009

DIFFERENTIAL PULLEYS
Students experiment with various configurations of differential pulleys.
See also “Ropes and Pulleys.”
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2012

GYRO ON A STRING
Students discover how the gyroscopic effect can help them steer a bicycle, then they make their own gyroscopic top and try to make it spin as long as possible. This relates to momentum, balance, center of mass, and guidance of missiles and aircraft. Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2010 – Parents Video 2013

HERO’S FOUNTAIN
Students make water flow uphill with no power added, and they make water stay in a jar that is upside down. This relates to liquids, gases, siphons, suction, and air pressure. Difficulty: Hard
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Observations

ROLLER COASTERS
Students work in groups to make a roller coaster with split foam tubes, marbles and tape. They discover amazing ways to get as many energy conversions as possible. This relates to potential and kinetic energy, friction, and inertia. Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Lesson Video 2006 – Complete Documentary 2006 – Student Discussion 2006 – Prep Video

ROPES AND PULLEYS
Use mountain climbing equipment to lift each other off the ground. This relates to simple machines, pulleys, ramps, levers, friction, balance, and mechanical advantage. Difficulty: Hard
See also “Differential Pulleys” and “Simple Machines 2014.”
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2012 – Prep Video 2012

SIEVE SORTER
Students use various kinds of sieves to sort beads, marbles,etc.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2013

SIMPLE MACHINES
Students drive nails with a hammer, saw wood, use a teeter-totter, and lift one another with an overhead rope and pulley. In the 2010 version, they use ropes and pulleys to drag one another up ramps and on platforms like a tug-of-war.
See also “Ropes and Pulleys.”
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2014 – Unedited Video 2010 – Observations

SQUIRT GUNS
Students construct a gun that can squirt water as high as a building, then compare the effects of different nozzles. Difficulty: Hard
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2010 – PVC Pipe Prep

WATER CLOCKS
Students build a clock that uses dripping water to tell time.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2010 – Observations

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Sound

ACOUSTIC SPEAKERS
Students learn how acoustic speakers work and how to make things move with electricity.
Story:
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2012

BLOCKING CELL PHONES
Students test various materials to see if they can block a cell phone signal.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2012

BULL ROARER
Students discover ways to make sound by blowing air across taut flat surfaces such as rubber bands, ribbons, string, and balloons. Then they thread a long balloon through a hole in a bouncy ball and figure out how to swing it around rapidly to make it sing.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2011

ECHO SPRINGS
This is the Teen version of “Sound Effects with Cup.” Students explore sound transmission with paper cups & string, then with “Echo Blasters,” then with audio feedback.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2013

AMPLIFIERS
Students use amplifiers to discover sounds floating in the air. Teacher Guide – Full Video 2011

GLOVE-O-PHONES
Students discover how a vibrating balloon is like their vocal cords. They build a musical instrument that makes weird sounds when they blow into it. This relates to vibration, vocal cords, air pressure, and sound amplification. Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009

LASER SOUND WAVES
Students use a laser beam to transform the sound of their own voice into crazy patterns. This relates to light waves, lasers, reflection, sound, vibration, and wavelengths. This lesson only works in rooms that can be darkened. Difficulty: Medium
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Unedited Video 2012 (Teen) – Observations

MAGNETIC TAPE TEEN
Students explore audio effects using magnetic recording tape and amplifiers.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2013

RADIO WAVES TEEN
Students experiment with small amplifiers to see what kinds of sounds they can pick up from various electrical devices in the room. Then they leave the room while the instructor hides a radio-controlled “bomb.” When the students return, they try to detect the location of the bomb. 11/6/10
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2010

SOUND BARRIER TEEN
Students try to break the sound barrier using rolled-up towels and bullwhips.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2010 – Alternate Story Opening

SOUND EFFECTS WITH CUP
Students discover the different ways that sound travels through a piece of string, a rubber band, and a plastic cup. This relates to vibration, frequency, and sound amplification. Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009

STETHOSCOPES
Students discover how sounds can travel through solids, liquids, and air using a simple stethoscope that they make and can keep. This relates to the anatomy of the ear, vibrations, sound amplification, and anatomy of the heart. Difficulty: Medium
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009

WOODWINDS
Discover how to make heavenly and then totally loud and disgusting sounds with tubes, reeds, balloons, and other weird materials. This relates to sound waves, vibration, pitch, and sound amplification. Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2013 – Unedited Video 2010 – Observations

ECHO BLASTERS
Students experiment with echoes by constructing an echo chamber inside a cardboard tube containing a noisy spring. Then they try to make more noise than a rock concert with just their voices. This relates to sound waves, vibrations, echoes, and sound amplification. Difficulty: Hard
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009 – Unedited Video 2011 – Echo Blaster 2008 – Prep Video
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Structures

BOX TOWERS
Discover how to stack cardboard 12 feet tall without climbing on anything. This relates to structures, center of gravity, and teamwork. Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2013 – Unedited Video 2012

BRIDGE FAILURE
Students build bridges with craft sticks, then test their strength by adding weight until they break. (See also “Popsicle Strength”. It introduces concepts used in Bridge Failure.)
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2012 Part 1 – Unedited Video 2012 Part 2

DESTRUCTION DERBY
Students build a vehicle that can protect a raw egg during a high-speed crash.
Story:
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2010 Part 1 – Unedited Video 2010 Part 2 – Observations – Crash Test Dummies 2008

DESTRUCTIVE TESTING
Students tear, twist, cut, smash, and bend stuff until it breaks. This relates to properties of matter and material strength. Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009

INVENTIONS
Students find many ways to divert a marble as if rolls down an inclined surface and gets trapped at the bottom. (This appears to be a prequel to “Minion Traps.”)
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2014

MINION TRAPS
Students build a Rube Goldberg device to trap a minion. (This appears to be a followup to “Inventions.”)
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2014 – Unedited Video 2010 – Observations

POPSICLE STRENGTH
This is a precursor to the “Bridge Failure” lesson. Students learn how strong craft sticks can be.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2012

RUBE GOLDBERG
Students build Rube Goldberg devices.
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2012

SAMSON’S COLUMNS 2012
See how much weight you can support with a single sheet of paper. This relates to column strength, balance, compression test, teamwork, sharing, utilizing shared knowledge (they see what others did and try to improve on that). Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2012 – Extra Video Clip 2012

STRAW TOWERS TEEN
Students receive a supply of straws, tape, paper, rubber bands, and a three-pound weight. Then they try to construct a tower to hold the weight at least three feet high. This relates to structures, elasticity, center of mass, friction, and teamwork. Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2009

SUNKEN RAFTS
Make all shapes of boats out of aluminum foil and see how much weight it takes to sink them. This relates to weight, density, displacement of water, and buoyancy. Difficulty: Easy
Trailer – Teacher Guide – Full Video 2012

ZOOB TOWERS
Zoobs are plastic construction pieces. Students use them to build a construction that can withstand the weight of a stack of books. (These Zoobs were also used to create a demo strand of DNA in the DNA lesson.)
No Teacher Guide – Unedited Video 2010 – Observations
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Non-Lesson Videos

PROMO VIDEOS:
How We Do Rock-it Science 2013 Fundraiser
Summer Camp 2010 Promo
Build It and Keep It Camp 2011 Promo
Teen Class 2011 Promo
Inventioneering Camp 2018 Promo
OTHER:
Meet Mr. Mac 2005
Rock-it Science at Lowell School 2006 documentary
Mr. Mac Demonstrates Science Gear 2007 (This was an audition reel for a science program.)
Get a Team of Volunteers 2012
PVC Pipe Prep (for various lessons)
How to Present a Rock-it Science Lesson (pdf file)

Weekly Emails without Lessons

Conductivity of Water Weekly Email 2021
Conductivity and Resistance Weekly Email 2021
Electromagnets Weekly Email 2021
Magic Tricks Weekly Email 2021
Metal Etching Weekly Email 2021
Paper Circuits Weekly Email 2021
Penny Batteries Weekly Email 2021
Vitamin C Titration Weekly Email 2021

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