6 Simple Science Experiments using Balloons

The Skewer Trick

You can do many things with balloons aside from making them as balloon decorations or embellishments for a party. In the short video below, you can see the top six science experiments that use balloons. You can do these fun tricks on your own or with a kid for education purposes. Without further ado, here are the top 6 simple balloon experiments.

1. The Skewer Trick

By using a barbeque stick and adding a small scotch tape on the area where you are going to insert the skewer stick, the balloon will remain inflated until you remove the stick. There might be a small hole created by the skewer and air will gradually go out but you will still have enough time to present the trick to your audience before you pull out the stick. The scotch tape or clear tape holds the surrounding part of the balloon where you inserted the stick. This will make it intact and avoid being busted.

2. Balloon-powered Car

Using LEGO blocks or a plastic car toy, simply attach the opening portion of the balloon to the back part of the car, where the spoilers are usually located. You can use a glue gun for this experiment. By inflating the balloon using your mouth or a balloon inflator, the balloon will gather air inside of it. Because of its elasticity, the balloon will let the air out of its opening, creating a motion that will enable the car to move forward.

3. Bed of Tacks

Using one tack can make the balloon burst but using multiple tacks can make it stay inflated. This is because the pressure point is distributed evenly in that area of the balloon. Usually, the balloon will stay inflated for a few hours but very tiny holes created by the pointed part of the thumbtacks will deflate it. Exerting just the right amount of force will make sure the balloons stay as it is. Using too much force will eventually burst it.

4. Balloon Hovercraft

Using compact discs and covers of sauce containers can make this Balloon Hovercraft experiment work. The air coming out of the balloon pushes from the bottom of the disc that will make it levitate. This is a similar concept to the puck in a table hockey game.

5. The Magic Balloon

This trick involves a balloon filled with water. It may look weird why most people uses dark-colored balloons for this trick but this is because they want to conceal the water inside. The water inside the balloon will offset the heat of the flames. Because of the elasticity of the balloons, it will simply expand a little bit and distribute the heat to the water.

6. Balloon Blow Up

For this science experiment, you need baking soda and vinegar. Put baking soda in a plastic bottle container and the vinegar inside the balloon. Put the lip of the balloon to the opening of the bottle while pouring the vinegar to the container. When baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) reacts with vinegar (dilute acetic acid), it will generate carbon dioxide, which blows up the balloon. The expansion of the balloons is relative to the quantity of baking soda and vinegar mixture. Notably, this is similar to the Coke (soda) and Mentos (vinegar) experiment. If you mix these two, you will create a fun explosion if its outside your body but inside, you’ll surely be in trouble.

Now, it is your time to try these science experiments and discover the great things about balloons. You may also read about Hydrogen vs Helium and Balloon are from Rubber Trees for more information about these fun and colorful stuffs. Do not forget to share!