Purdue University Science Scape 2012

Adia, 7 th grade, age 11 Brandon, 7 th grade, age 12 Josie, 7 th grade, age 12 Allison, 8 th grade, age 13 Tahir, 9 th grade, age 14 Kinetic and Potential Energy Experiment TitleHope to Accomplish What I Learned Bungee JumperMake a safe and thrilling bungee cord. I learned that the force of gravity pushes the bottle down. Make Your Own Bouncy BallMake my own bouncy ball. I learned that bouncy balls are very hard to create.

Bungee Jump Rubber bands Baby bottle Meter stick or ruler Stopwatch (optional) We tied rubber bands to the baby bottle and dropped it from the top of the doorframe and timed it. Bouncy Ball Small cup Popsicle stick Glue Food coloring (optional) Borax solution Corn starch Spoons We mixed glue, food coloring, borax solution, and corn starch in the small cup with the popsicle stick. Then, we rolled it into a ball shape. We had to make the bouncy balls ourselves.

Bungee Jump What happened was some jumpers touched the ground, jumpers with 6 rubber bands or less didn’t. The results we got were that the experiment worked. We saw that the bottles almost touched the ground, then bounced back up. Bouncy Ball What happened was, none of the balls bounced. The results we got were that the experiment did not work. We saw that when we dropped the balls, they didn’t bounce, they just rolled around on the floor. A color change happened when we added food coloring the mix. When we were rolling the mix into a ball shape, it changed from soft to hard.

We learned about potential and kinetic energy in both of these labs. Our bungee jumps worked, but our bouncy balls did not. The corn starch might have caused the bouncy ball from bouncing. These experiments did not change how we think they are things we already know. Our conclusions are that some experiments work, and some do not.

We visited the Native American education and Cultural Center and learned about different Native American tribes and their cultures. We recommend this activity for future camps because it was very fun and educational.

Our number one favorite thing about this camp was visiting Indiana Beach. It was really fun to ride the roller coasters and other things. Thanks to the counselors, vendors, instructors, and directors of Purdue University’s Science Scape 2012 camp.