Praxis: Taking water balloon fights to the next level

By Medicine Hat News on July 7, 2018.

I know that many of us love to be outside enjoying the great outdoors during the summer. There is often one activity that I feel is overlooked. What is more fun on a hot day than a great water balloon fight, right? Well, I think this week we should take it to the next level of a water balloon fight. Let’s get started!

*Remember to ask an adult before doing this experiment.

Materials

– drill

– large plastic funnel

– two 2 metre lengths of rubber tubing (available at the hardware store)

– water balloons

– water

– two science helpers

Procedure

1. Fill up some water balloons and set aside.

2. Have an adult help you drill some holes in the funnel. You want to make four holes near the top rim of the plastic funnel. Use a drill bit large enough so you can push the rubber tubing through easily.

3. Tie an end of rubber tubing to each of the four holes so that the funnel has two large loops of tubing coming from each side.

4. You need these loops in order to launch the balloons.

5. Have one science helper hold the loop on one side and the other science helper hold the loop on the opposite side.

6. The science helpers need to have their arms high in the air and stretch the launcher out as far as they can between them.

7. You need to place a water balloon into the funnel.

8. Pull the funnel as far back as you can.

9. Release the balloon. (Please make sure you are not aiming at someone’s face or harming anything, you want to be safe and have fun).

10. Watch what happens.

What is going on?

How does this activity involve science, many of you are probably asking. Well of course, it involves science, or I wouldn’t be writing about it. The science is behind the water balloon launcher (and may I add a pretty incredible water balloon launcher).

For all of the educators and parents out there, this is a great physics lesson. It can easily be tweaked to introduce or wrap up concepts such as force or potential and kinetic energy. In math, the lesson could expose students to multi variable functions, mathematical models, problem solving, and curve fitting. For all of the children and young at heart out there, it is summer. Build the launcher, use it and have a ton of fun! Until next weekÉ

Patty Rooks is senior scientific consultant at PRAXIS, “Connecting Science To The Community.” Contact Praxis at praxis@praxismh.ca, http://www.praxismh.ca, Tweet or follow us @PraxisMedHat, or friend us on Facebook.

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