Science Fun: Fun with Water

I really enjoy doing science experiments with my kids, whether playing with chemicals, like baking soda and vinegar, or pulling apart a plant to see how it's put together. We own a wide array of science and 'magic' books, most of them older and using items we can usually find at home.

One experiment we tried that was quite fun, fast and simple to do using items we can easily find around the house.

WHAT WE USED:
plastic zipper style bag
Water
Sharpened pencil crayons

What We Did:
We carefully filled the bag with water and closed the top. I asked the children what they thought would happen if we pushed the pencils through the water filled bag. Will it leak, or will the water stay in?
They both thought it would leak all over. So we stayed over the sink while they each took turns pushing pencils through the plastic bag. It didn't leak! The children were amazed, and we proceeded to fill more bags and poke them with pencils.

Of course water play wouldn't be complete without actually letting the water go, so we pulled the pencils out and watched the fountains of water flow out of the bag.

We all enjoyed learning why it doesn't leak when you push the pencils through, but will once the holes are unplugged.

How It Actually Works:
When you push the pencils through the plastic bag, usually made from a polymer plastic called low density polyethylene. The bag pulls itself against the pencils, creating a type of seal. When the pencils are pulled out, the plastic cannot go back together, so the holes remain, and the water leaks out.

How do you play with science in your home? This is one simple experiment almost anyone can try out.

Peace and love.