redsquirrel Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 When DS1 was a grammar stage kid I disappointed him big time. When I told him we would be spending the year learning about chemistry, he thought that meant blowing things up. It led to some good discussions..but promises were made. I told him next time we study chemistry we will blow things up. The time has come. He will be in 7th grade with a brother in second. We have our plan for the year (ACS and some Tops science) but I would like to end next year with some fun. Does anyone have any suggestions for fun chemistry that results in explosions? I am buying my materials for next year soon and I want to get my stuff ordered. To be clear, I am not talking about vinegar in baking soda. They have done that many times. Oh, and the following year will be physical science so if you have any super cool suggestions, don't hold back! I have my books etc, but some fun way to finish the year is always a good thing. The scientific process goes BOOM! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandragood1 Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 I would suggest that you visit Amazon and search "Backyard Ballistics." It is a great book, however you may also find some of the other response to the query to be interesting to you. Sandra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mamachick2 Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 I would suggest that you visit Amazon and search "Backyard Ballistics." It is a great book, however you may also find some of the other response to the query to be interesting to you. Sandra :iagree: "Backyard Ballistics" is a great book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted May 7, 2012 Author Share Posted May 7, 2012 ok, so backyard ballistics it is! Any other suggestions? Or warnings :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 Another vote for "Backyard Ballistics!" The biggest boy in my house (that would be my husband) got it for DS1's seventh birthday and has had fun tinkering with its projects (and the kids are impressed). ETA: A warning -- one of the reviews does say that certain projects are illegal in some states, so do be sure you check about those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grover Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 we made a rail gun with magnets and ballbearings. Also a tin with a lid, a candle burning in the bottom, a little flour in the bottom and a tube to blow through. Light the candle and puff through the tube. Boom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freerange Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 Also look for Mini Weapons of Mass Destruction on Amazon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErinD Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 We did a great geyser with Mentos and coke. You make a paper tube and put it on the (open) top of the bottle. Then very quickly drop two or three Mentos in and jump back. You will definitely want to do with outside, as it goes ceiling height in most cases. And the minty Coke afterwards, my kids and nephews really enjoyed. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted May 7, 2012 Author Share Posted May 7, 2012 mentos and coke sounds super fun! Finally, a good use for coke. We can learn about why the reaction happens and the kids can do a presentation and make a movie, etc. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 If you go to Amazon and look up the Backyard Ballistics book they list other recommendations that will give you the BOOM you are looking for. Lots of great ideas in those books but make sure it is legal for your area before trying them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ga girl Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science: 64 Daring Experiments for Young Scientists on Amazon looks great, too! My rising 7th grader will also do chemistry this year and wants to "blow things up". We'll do physical science for 8th grade. Happy chemistry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHomeScientist Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 Alas, the government no longer has any sense of humor about real explosives. When I was a mid-teenager in the 60's, I made real explosives--nitroglycerin, RDX, PETN, and so on--and detonated them in what in retrospect was ridiculously large and hideously dangerous amounts. Back in those days, the cops had a boys-will-be-boys attitude, thinking that it was perfectly normal for teenage boys to blow things up, which it was. At most, they'd caution us to be careful. One time when I was about 15, some friends of mine and I decided to blow up a boulder that was in the middle of a field. We used home-made explosives and a home-made detonator that produced an explosion equivalent to several sticks of dynamite. Unfortunately, a cop happened to be within hearing distance. He showed up in his cruiser, walked down to us and asked if we'd caused that explosion. I knew the game was up, so I admitted I'd done it. He asked, "Do you know what you're doing?" I told him I did, which I did. He just shook his head and said, "Okay, but you be careful now." He got in his cruiser and drove away without even asking for our names. Nowadays, the authorities have absolutely zero sense of humor about explosives. Even before 9/11 it was pretty bad; now it's terrible. People have been arrested and faced federal charges for setting off a cherry bomb or a silver salute. I would strongly suggest that you avoid explosives, even low explosives like black powder. Kids just aren't allowed to have fun any more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mo2 Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 Backyard Ballistics is recommended for physics in 8th grade, I believe. (Just in case you follow WTM science recs). mentos and coke sounds super fun! Finally, a good use for coke. We can learn about why the reaction happens and the kids can do a presentation and make a movie, etc. Thanks! Don't forget to watch the Mythbusters episode about Mentos and Coke. If I remember right, they found that Diet Coke worked best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nellecv Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 This all sounds so fun! Do any of these books have things you could do with primary kids? I don't really care is she learns anything from it, I just think she'd enjoy the chaos! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 This all sounds so fun! Do any of these books have things you could do with primary kids? I don't really care is she learns anything from it, I just think she'd enjoy the chaos! My 3, 7, 10, and 30-something-year-olds ALL enjoyed the chaos and BOOM from "Backyard Ballistics!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lily_Grace Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiments/009 There are videos and written instructions for most of these experiments. I watch, then print out the instructions to build things together. Most use basic supplies, too, though some use supplies sold by the company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 Alas, the government no longer has any sense of humor about real explosives. When I was a mid-teenager in the 60's, I made real explosives--nitroglycerin, RDX, PETN, and so on--and detonated them in what in retrospect was ridiculously large and hideously dangerous amounts. Back in those days, the cops had a boys-will-be-boys attitude, thinking that it was perfectly normal for teenage boys to blow things up, which it was. At most, they'd caution us to be careful. One time when I was about 15, some friends of mine and I decided to blow up a boulder that was in the middle of a field. We used home-made explosives and a home-made detonator that produced an explosion equivalent to several sticks of dynamite. Unfortunately, a cop happened to be within hearing distance. He showed up in his cruiser, walked down to us and asked if we'd caused that explosion. I knew the game was up, so I admitted I'd done it. He asked, "Do you know what you're doing?" I told him I did, which I did. He just shook his head and said, "Okay, but you be careful now." He got in his cruiser and drove away without even asking for our names. Nowadays, the authorities have absolutely zero sense of humor about explosives. Even before 9/11 it was pretty bad; now it's terrible. People have been arrested and faced federal charges for setting off a cherry bomb or a silver salute. I would strongly suggest that you avoid explosives, even low explosives like black powder. Kids just aren't allowed to have fun any more. LOL. I can so relate. In the mid-60s when I was in elementary school a group of us neighborhood boys set up our own little b*mb factory in a cool wood shed that we call our laboratory. We made our own powder (iron filings from sandbox gathered with a magnet) with stuff we order form lab supply places (sulfur, sodium nitrate, potassium nitrate). We figured out how to manufacture firecrackers in an assembly line. We (mosty) made our own fuses, but had pre-made too. We used big ones to set off 5 gallon glass water bottles filled with home-made "napalm" (gasoline, kerosene, dissolved styrofoam, rubber cement, and sterno). When those went off (deep in a concrete river wash where there was no risk of a greater conflagration) the explosion and ensuing inferno was absolutely spectacular! Apocalypse Now had nothing on us!!! :lol: We had many more pedestrian bombs, but some like sterno bombs (M-80 sealed in plastic inside a extra big sterno can, with the fuse coming up through a tiny hole in the lid, a lid that was then sealed shut with fast drying epoxy) were pretty spectacular—and scary dangerous—in their own right. DO NOT DO THIS AT HOME!!! Times have certainly changed ;) Except maybe at redsquirrel's house Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mo2 Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 Times have certainly changed ;) Except maybe at redsquirrel's house Bill :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science: 64 Daring Experiments for Young Scientists on Amazon looks great, too! My rising 7th grader will also do chemistry this year and wants to "blow things up". We'll do physical science for 8th grade. Happy chemistry! This is a great book! I've owned it for a few years, since the kids were small, but now they're old enough to have some fun with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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