Static Electricity

Static electricity is a fun class to teach. We begin talking about all of the ways we use electricity. The kids named all of the things they use (TV, computer, battery toys, etc...) I reviewed the atom by showing a picture and pointing out the electrons. The word electron sounds like the word electricty, that's because electrons jumping from atom to atom create electricity. Atoms in copper, aluminum and other metals move easily and are called conductors. Atoms in plastic, wood, glass, rubber etc have electrons that don't travel, these are called insulators.

Current electricity - I showed them a few kinds of batteries. Each battery is a box of electrons. There are 2 different metals inside the battery (electrodes) surrounded by an acid or base that dissolve the metals causing them to release the electrons. I asked if they've ever had a battery corrode inside of a toy. I had a 1.5, 6 and 9 volt battery and hooked each up to a light bulb one at a time. The 1.5 was dim the 6 volt was brighter because the electrons were coming out faster and the 9 volt was the brightest. Volts mean speed of electrons. We then all held hands and connected to light up an energy ball
(4.95). The electrons traveled through our hands to create a circuit. We then pretended to be a battery. I had to containers - 1 labeled positive and 1 negative. The faster we went the higher the volts. When we ran out of pompoms we said the battery had died and we could buy another or recharge it.

Static electricity - I have a Van der Graff generator to demonstrate static electricity and the kids love to have their hair stand up. You can use balloons to rub on their heads and transfer the electrons from the hair to the balloon.

For our projects each child got a 18 inch PVC pipe and put caps on the ends. We rubbed them with fleece and them picked up tissue paper, yarn and tinsel.