Mythbusters STEM Program

I <3 Mythbusters! Explosions, science, awesomeness…   So, I was uber thrilled to conduct a mythbusters program for tweens this summer. I actually borrowed (and then modified) this program idea from the Tween Scene.  The Tween Scene is an awesome resource for pre-planned tween programs that you can modify to meet your library’s needs. 

Age Range: 8-12

Time range: About 1 hour

Attendance: capped at 20 Mythbusters due to supply limitation

Cost: around $15-$20 in grocery supplies

Shopping List: cornstarch, glass bowls, large metal spoons, paper, lightweight books, tape, pencils, caffeine free cola, pop-rock candy

To start, I set up 5 tables with enough chairs to seat 4 kids per table.  The tweens choose their “team” by picking an empty seat at one on the tables. Next, I presented the tween teams with:

Da’ Rules - 

1. No running
2. No yelling 
3. Your team must agree on an answer – truth or myth – before conducting the experiment
4. You are not allowed to get help from parents or older sibling
5. Each team that guesses the right answer receives four raffle tickets (one for each tween) to the summer reading raffle prize drawing (water park tickets)

Myth #1: A substance can be both a liquid and solid at the same time

First, each team had to decide if this statement was truth or a myth. The team guesses were split down the middle. Half guessed this was a true statement and half guessed myth.  Next, each team received a bowl of Oobleck from our awesome teen volunteer.  The tweens "experimented” with the Oobeleck by squishing, bouncing, dripping, punching, etc… 

***WARNING***

This is VERY messy!  In retrospect, I should have saved this experiment for the end.  Luckily, I had disposable tablecloths covering all the tables.  I just rolled them up with the Oobleck and threw everything away after the kids were done experimenting.  FYI – Oobleck vacuums off carpet when it dries (thank goodness!).

Correct Answer?  Truth   
We showed the following Mythbusters video to explain the answer (while my brave volunteers and I cleaned up their colossal mess):

Myth #2: Paper can support a book

First, each team had to decided if this statement was truth or myth (only one team guessed myth).  Each team was then given one piece of paper, tape, and a stack of light weight books:

Correct answer? Truth – The teams could have folded paper accordion style or rolled it into a tube using the tape.  The youngest team completed the challenge very quickly.  I was impressed!  The participants then had a blast competing with each other to see whose structure could hold the most books (the record was 16). 


The teams watched the following YouTube video explaining the science behind their constructions:

Myth #3: Eating pop-rock candy and drinking coke will make your stomach explode

This was, by far, the favorite myth of the program!  Teams spent five minutes debating the truth of the myth while daring each other to try the combination first.  The following video explains the history behind this myth:

http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/videos/pop-rocks-minimyth.htm

The End

After sugaring the kids up….I passed out the SRP raffle tickets.  I directed the tween Mythbusters to a cart full of science experiment literature and book-talked a few of them.  This program was well worth the cleanup after.  I will defiantly be repeating this program again next year.  Possibly with a different set of myths?