Science Demo Table Centerpieces at a Party

[explokate]

Hi everyone,

 

We're planning a party and we'd like to make some science demos to use as centerpieces at the dinner tables. Ideally, these would be:

 

- interactive

- pretty

- fairly cheap or easy to make ourselves (<$100)

- safe and not messy

 

For example, one idea is a ferrofluid display cell along with some magnets, but it's hard to get good information on how to make these. An open dish of ferrofluid would be too likely to lead to disaster.

 

Another idea is something like this demonstrating eddy currents: http://www.exo.net/~...ngincopper.html

but that seems to be prohibitively expensive with the price of copper as it is now.

 

Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated!

[Mr Skeptic]

A flame test. You can make green fire by sticking a copper wire in a flame. Ingredients: 1 Bunsen burner or candle, and some copper wire. The copper wire can be gotten from any broken electrical appliance. Small and cheap.

[ewmon]

we'd like to make some science demos to use as centerpieces at the dinner tables ... fairly cheap or easy to make ourselves (<$100).

 

one idea is a ferrofluid display cell along with some magnets, but ... An open dish of ferrofluid would be too likely to lead to disaster.

 

Homemade ferrofluid in large sealable petri dishes.