Various objects of different weights and sizes

§  Small dowel or stick
§  String
§  Paperclips
§  Scissors
§  Tape
§  Strong magnets (Use either neodymium magnets .5 inch or bigger or ceramic magnets .75 inch or larger. Regular craft magnets won’t work.)
§  Metal ruler (or wooden ruler with tape)
§  Blocks, books, or other material for stacking

Falling Objects

Gravity is what keeps our feet on the ground. It's one thing that affects all people and things equally. 

In a vacuum, a bowling ball and a feather would fall at exactly the same speed, but because of the Earth’s atmosphere, a heavy bowling ball falls much quicker than a light feather—thanks to gravity. Try this experiment to see if you can see the difference in speed between falling objects and maybe even puzzle out why. Just make sure not to drop any bowling balls on your toes!

Materials:
Balls
Balloons
Assorted household items
Sturdy chairs
Stopwatch (a smartphone works great!)
Optional:­­ bathroom or kitchen scale

1. Collect a selection of balls and a household object, like a doll or an action figure, that’s approximately the same weight as each of the balls. Then blow up a balloon to be the same size as each ball. If you have a scale, weigh each item and record the weights.

2. Stand on a sturdy chair and have a family member get the stopwatch ready. First, drop a ball and time how long it takes to hit the ground. Then do the same with the appropriate sized balloon and household object. Make sure you’re dropping the items from the same height each time. Maybe to be sure, hold the item at your nose and drop them from there. As you drop each item be sure to record how long it takes for it to land.

3. When complete, examine your results. What did you observe? Did shape, size or weight have an impact on how quickly items reached the ground?

Defying Gravity

Place three magnets along a metal ruler. (If you’re using a wooden ruler, you can tape the magnets to the top.)

Suspend the ruler from two stacks of blocks, books, or other materials. Be sure the magnets are facing down.

Tie pieces of string to the paper clips

Take one paperclip and hold it until it’s just suspended below the first magnet. Tape the string in place onto the table (or whatever surface your activity is on). Do this with the other two paperclips.

After taping the strings in place below the magnets, remove the ruler and observe what happens. 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.

Put the ruler with magnets back above the paperclips. Slowly lift each paperclip toward each magnet until they are all suspended.