Static Electricity Experiment

For our energy science unit we got a Tubberware full of various items. The only thing is there is no instructions to go with the items, so we are left to make sense of all the items ourselves. Two items made sense to me: balloons and a glove. Static Electricity!!! In October, I had done a fun science experiment with my five year old that made ghostly coffee filters dance with a charged balloon. I had to make a manipulated variable to make it a true experiment so I had students try to charge the balloon with three different things: their hair, a glove, and a paper towel. Then I had students measure the distance from the balloon to the coffee filters from when the filters started to float up.

The experiment write-up in their science journals

You can't do static electricity without the classic hair pics ;o)