Link for Static Sticky Tape Workshop

Link for Mini Motors Workshop

Link for Computer Simulation: Packing Candy Workshop

Static Sticky Tape (Grades 3-12)

In this hands-on activity, students will use scotch tape to observe some of the properties of static electricity. Older students can also explore how a variable might affect the electrostatic force of the tape.

Presenters: Madisen Holbrook, Eric Seewald, and Sara Shabani (Columbia University)

Mini Motors (Grades 1-12)

In this hands-on activity, students will make a chemical motor for their own paper boats. Students will learn how the chemical interactions between two liquids can cause molecules to move and how forces play a role in the motion of their boat. 

Presenters: Brooke Bernardoni (Discovery Space), Ashlesha Bhide, & Angus Unruh (Penn State University)

Computer Simulation: Packing Candy (Grades 6-12)

In this activity, students will see how coding (Python) can be used to set up a simulation. They will then alter variables in the simulation to try and figure out what are the best conditions to package M&M’s, as densely as possible, in a bag.

Presenters: Prof. Julia Dshemuchadse, Maya Martirossyan, & Rachael Skye (Cornell University)

October 30, 2021

Link for Workshop Recording

Link for Presentation

Link for Lesson Plans

Learn how to use a free computer program, NetLogo, to get you and your students to create their own educational software that helps them learn math and science concepts.

Presenter:  Peter Tsun, Physics Teacher, Newtown High School

April 24, 2021

Link for Workshop Recording

In these hands-on activities, students will learn to use the magnometer sensor in their phones, using a free app (Arduino Science Journal). They will explore magnetism and look at the relationship between magnetic force and distance.

Presenters: Prof. Greg Fuchs, Brendan McCullian, & Jialun Luo, Department of Physics

Link for Static Sticky Tape Workshop Recording

In these hands-on activities, students will use the sound intensity sensor in their phones, using a free app (Science Journal), to explore the principles of sound. They will construct a speaker to amplify the sound and then to find a solution to reduce the perceived sound volume.  

Presenters:Rakshit Jain, Department of Physics & Federico Presutti, Department of Applied and Engineering Physics, Cornell University

Static Sticky Tape

In this hands-on activity, students will use scotch tape to observe some of the properties of static electricity. Older students can also explore how a variable might affect the electrostatic force of the tape.

Presenters: Professor Abhay Pasupathy, Giancarlo Pereira, Eric Seewald, & Carmen Verdu, Department of Physics , Columbia University

February 27, 2021

Link for Workshop Recording

In these hands-on activities, students will use the accelerometer sensor in their phones, using a free app (Science Journal), to explore Newton’s Laws of Motion by measuring the acceleration of objects and calculating the amount of force used to cause the motion.

Presenter: Professor Mark Tanstrum, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Brigham Young University, Kevin Nangoi, & Nathan Sitaraman, Department of Physics, Cornell University

Link for Workshop Recording

Bernoulli ‘s Principle is the single principle that helps explain how heavier-than-air objects can fly. Students  learn about this by doing some easy, at-home demonstrations. They then apply this to flight by making paper helicopters and airplanes, while also identifying forces that affect their flight.

Presenter: Professor Alan Zehnder & Aditya Bhaskar, Sibley School of Mechanical Engineering, Renee Sifri, Department of Chemical and Chemical Biology

December 12th, 2020

Link for Workshop Recording

The pH scale is a way of gauging the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. This hands-on activity will show how to get your students to make a homemade pH indicator using red cabbage. Students will be able to use the color-changing indicator to understand the acidity or alkalinity of various household chemicals and create a pH scale. There will also be a presentation looking at the role of pH in plastic recycling research.

Presenter: Professor Geoff Coates, Grace Hester & Sarah Parke, Department of Chemical and Chemical Biology

Link for Workshop Recording

In this hands-on activity, learn how to get your students to use a ruler and a simple, home-built balance scale, to measure the mass and volume of coins and use this information to calculate the density.

Presenter: Professor Justin Wilson, Nick Bigham, & Tracky Huang,  Department of Chemical and Chemical Biology

In this hands-on activity, students will use the light sensor in their phones, using a free app (Science Journal), to explore the properties of light with different materials. They will also learn how to use light to measure concentration and estimate the concentration of juice in a mixture.

Presenter: Professor Phillip Milner, Ruth Mandel, Kaitlyn MacMillan, Department of Chemical and Chemical Biology

September 26th, 2020

Link for Workshop Recording

In this hands-on activity, students will learn about and explore a material that they come into contact with everyday: polymers. They will create their own, non-toxic polymers and use them, along with other household plastics, to test for material properties. Students will learn how plastics are classified for recycling and look at the ways that scientists are trying to create more sustainable polymers.

Presenter: Scott Spring, Department of Chemical and Chemical Biology