Hot Science Experiments How-Tos

How To: Make slime without using borax

This video shows you how to make slime, or goo, without using borax which can be harsh on some people's skin. Rather than spending money on buying slime for your children in the toy store, simply mix water and cornstarch. You can even make it any color you want just by adding food coloring. Make slime without using borax.

How To: Create a color explosion with this cool science experiement

Soap is an incredible thing and this how-to shows some of its incredible qualities. You'll need a plate, some whole mile, some food coloring, some Q-tips and some dish detergent. It's an explosion of color! Some very unusual things happen when you mix a little milk, food coloring, and a drop of liquid soap. Use the experiment to amaze your friends and uncover the scientific secrets of soap.

How To: Perform an ice-cube trick with sodium chloride

Think you can lift an ice-cube with nothing but a piece of string? In this cool how-to science lesson, Steve Spangler shows us how to do it, and explains what happens when salt is put on ice. We all know that salt is used to melt ice and snow, but do you know why? Leave it Steve Spangler to turn this basic science lesson into an after-dinner trick you'll use to amaze your friends.

How To: Perform a cool water heat conduction experiment

This is a cool science experiment to show what a great heat conductor water is. You'll need some balloons, a candle and some water. Check it out and be amazed! Common sense tells you that it's impossible to boil water in a paper bag, but this classic parlor trick was a favorite of the Victorian magician. The real difficultly in performing this effect is making it look harder than it is! As you might imagine, the secret lies in yet another amazing property of water - it's ability to conduct he...

How To: Perform a superheated steam science experiment

This is a cool experiment that shows what happens when we superheat steam. Wath as we move beyond a gas to something else! Steve Spangler is the science man and he'll turn you on to something cool. We usually think of water as a substance used to put out fires... but what happens when water turns to steam and that steam gets superheated? Watch in amazement as the steam created in the experiment is used to create - not extinguish - fire!

How To: test the acidity or alkalinity of certain liquids

Hmmm, all you've got is a piece of cabbage but you need to test the acidity or alkalinity of some liquid. What do you do? What DO you do!? Well, you start by watching this video by Steve Spangler. Ahh, the sweet smell of science! Invite your friends over to share in this super smelly but really cool activity. Plug your nose and get ready to make your own red cabbage indicator that will test the acidity or alkalinity of certain liquids.

How To: Make a tea bag rocket and blast off

3,2,1... blast off! Here's a fun little experiment you can do with a tea bag and some matches. You can try it at home and see how far up you can make your tea bag rocket go. The Tea Bag Rocket is really an adaptation of a classic science demonstration called the Ditto Paper Rocket. Each piece of Ditto paper had a sheet of tissue paper that separated the two-part form, and it was this discarded piece of paper that kids used to make the "rocket." Since Ditto paper is a thing of the past, scienc...

How To: Walk on cornstarch with this non-Newtonian fluid trick

Walk on water? Impossible. Walk on cornstarch? You bet! Check out this video to see what happens when you mix up a tub of cornstarch and water. It's goopy cool fun. Mix cornstarch and water in this classic experiment to form a gooey liquid and solid material that behaves like quicksand. Some people refer to this as the Oobleck recipe, others call it a Non-Newtonian fluid. After watching these video segments, you'll call it a great science lesson as your students learn about the amazing proper...

How To: Perform the floating rice trick

This is a cool trick that creates the illusion that one object appears heavier than the other. Check out the video, and watch Steve Spangler perform this trick and teach you how to do it! This trick, dating back thousands of years, uses two identical bottles of rice and chopsticks. One bottle appears to be lighter than the other and floats up.

How To: Make a Stack of Different Colored Liquids

Here's a simple home science experiment to demonstrate to kids the different weight and viscosity of various liquids. The liquids near the bottom are more dense while the liquids on top are less dense. This can also be used to determine the relative density of solid objects. Place them in the container and see where they float.