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BALLOON BONANZA
Learn about static electricity with a series
of fun activities using a simple balloon.
What you need
•  Inflated rubber balloon
•  Some dry hair (yours
or someone else’s,
preferably attached)
or a woolly jumper
Challenge 1
What to do
1.  Rub the balloon on your hair or jumper really fast to give
it a static charge. Sometimes you might need to try a few
people’s hair before you can build up enough of a charge.
2.  Move the balloon away from your head.
3.  Your hair should stick to it (and look quite funny!)
4.  Try moving the balloon over your arm hair or the hair on
a doll. Does it have the same effect?
Challenge 2
What to do
1.  Rub the balloon on your hair or jumper really fast to give it a static charge.
2.  Turn a tap on so there is a steady stream of water flowing.
3.  Move the balloon towards the water without touching it. What happens to the
water?
4.  It should bend towards the balloon! Can you make it bend more?
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What you need
•  Inflated rubber balloon
•  Empty aluminium can
•  Some dry hair or a
woolly jumper
BALLOON BONANZA: Challenge 3
What to do
1.  Lay the aluminium can on its side on a flat
surface where it has room to roll.
2.  Rub the balloon on your hair or jumper really
fast to give it a static charge.
3.  When the balloon is charged, your hair will stick
to it as you move the balloon away from your
head.
4.  Hold the charged balloon very close to the
aluminium can - without touching the can or the
table – the can should start to roll!
5.  Slowly move the balloon away from the can.
Can you make the can roll along?
6.  Try getting the can to roll in different directions
and at different speeds. Can you get it to roll
uphill?
7.  Challenge someone else to a race!
What’s happening?
Have you ever felt an electric
shock after jumping on the
trampoline, pushing the
shopping trolley or stroking a
cat? This is caused by static
electricity. It works in exactly
the same way.
When you rub the balloon on hair, the balloon steals
negative charge from your hair. This means that the
balloon is now negatively charged and leaves your hair
positively charged. What do we know about opposites?
Well, opposites attract. So the hair (or the can or the
water) and balloon try to move together to balance out
the charge again – with shocking results!
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