Activities You Can Do at Home
- Test how the distance of stretch in a rubber band at rest relates to the distance the rubber band travels after being released in this experiment, Rubber Bands for Energy, from Science Buddies. Please note that in the investigation, energy is defined as the “ability to do work” and be sure to wear safety goggles when using rubber bands.
- Click here to build a kinetic sculpture following these directions from the PBS show Design Squad
- Build a roller coaster for marbles using foam pipe insulation to investigate how much of the gravitational potential energy of a marble at the starting point is converted to the kinetic energy of the marble at various points along the track. This project, called Roller Coaster Marbles: Converting Potential Energy to Kinetic Energy from Science buddies, would be an appropriate project for those that want to explore quantifying (using mathematical formulas) energy conversions. The background information introduces the concept of conservation of energy which is addressed in Energy for Maine lessons.
