STATIC ELECTRICITY DEMONSTRATIONS

• Give each group an balloon and a container of paper confetti or hole punches.  The group can use these to demonstrate that the friction of the rubber balloon on hair or fur transfers a few extra electrons to the balloon.  
• When they  hold the balloon close to some inert paper samples, the paper will "leap" to the balloon and cling momentarily.   Why do the paper fragments then fly away?  Why do the hair strands of the person whose hair you're using "stand on end" and cling to the balloon.     

• Do the same to a second balloon and tie the balloons to a string.  Hold the balloons close to each other - what happens?  Why?  What happens when you place your hand between the two balloons?  Why? 
• Place the balloon over a bowl of salt and pepper and watch as the pepper leaps up to the charged balloon. 
• Tie a couple of Cheerios with string and suspend them in the air.  Hold a balloon up to it and observe what happens.
• Try to approach a pile of Rice Crispies with a charged balloon.  Watch as they also leap up to the balloon then fly away as they become negative as well.

• Hold a charged balloon close to a metal pop can.
• Observe the tin can as is moves toward the balloon.
• Explain why this is happening.
• Link

• Visit the caretakers clean up room and start a long thin stream of water flowing.
• Hold the charged balloon close to the water stream and observe what happens.
• Explain why it does so - remember, unlike charges attract.

• Make an L-shaped Styrofoam handle out of the edge of a Styrofoam tray and tape it on to the aluminium pie plate. 
• Rub the Styrofoam plate on your head.  Lay it down on a table top.
• Take the metal plate by the handle and drop it onto the tray.
• Place your finger next to the pie plate and watch the spark jump up to your finger. Link

• When you rub Styrofoam on your hair, you pull electrons off your hair and pile them up on the Styrofoam. When you put an aluminium pie tin on the Styrofoam, the electrons on the Styrofoam pull on the electrons.
• Some of the electrons in metals are free electrons --they can move around inside the metal. These free electrons try to move as far away from the Styrofoam as they can. When you touch the pie tin, those free electrons leap to your hand, making a spark.

• After the electrons jump to your hand, the pie tin is short some electrons. When you lift the pie tin away from the Styrofoam plate, you've got a pie tin that attracts any and all nearby electrons. If you hold your finger close to the metal, electrons jump from your finger back to the pie tin, making another spark. When you put the pie tin back on the Styrofoam plate, you start the whole process over again.

• You see lightning when a spark of moving electrons races up or down between a cloud and the ground (or between two clouds). The moving electrons bump into air molecules along the way, heating them to a temperature five times hotter than the surface of the sun. This hot air expands as a supersonic shock wave, which you hear as thunder.

• Place some Styrofoam pellets or "paper bunnies" inside a clear plastic container.  Rub the plastic container vigorously with a wool cloth for several minutes and watch what happens.

• Make your electroscope (device for detecting a static charge)
• Cut two strips of foil l cm by 4 cm. Open out the paperclip to form the shape at right. Push the hook through the middle of the index card and tape it.  Lay the two foil strips on top of one another and hang them on the hook by pushing the hook through them. Lay the card over the jar so that the strips hang inside.
• Bring various charged objects to the top of the hook and observe the leaves move apart.  Reset by touching with your finger.  Link

• Inflate balloons.  Darken the room.
• Rub the balloons with wool or fur.
• Hold the balloon to a metal filing cabinet and watch the spark fly.
• The spark that flies from the balloon to the metal cabinet is much like lightning!