Electric entertainment for all the family ages 7+
Activity and information pack
www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/liveontour
Contents
A letter from the Museum 3
A brief history of the Science Museum 4
The Science Museum Past, Present and Future 6
Mark Champkins Inventor in Residence 7
Stephenson’s Rocket fact file 8
Enigmatic energy 9
Potential energy 10
Paddle Power 11
Hydrogen-powered urban car fact file 13
Glorious gravity 14
Ball Blaster 15
V2 rocket fact file 16
Fantastic forces 17
Handy Hovercraft 18
SR-N1 hovercraft fact file 22
Super-Strong Friction 23
Marvellous materials 24
Separating Water 25
Teachers’ notes 27
Live on Tour Activity and information pack www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/liveontour
2
fact file
Length of time at the
Science Museum:
6 years
Favourite object in the
Museum:
The Apollo 10 space capsule.
I find it amazing that it has
orbited the Moon.
Name: Jean M Franczyk
Best science fact:
The only letter not appearing
on the periodic table is the
letter J.
ur in
ce Museum Live on To
ien
Sc
d
lle
ca
ow
sh
tic
We have a fantas
extend
pack will help you to
ity
tiv
ac
is
Th
.
UK
e
th
theatres around
inspiring
classroom. It provides
ur
yo
o
int
ow
sh
e
th
the themes from
hande as lesson starters,
us
to
as
ide
d
an
n
io
at
activities, inform
s place
ve great learning take
lie
be
e
W
.
es
iti
tiv
ac
al
outs and practic
that we
ve provided activities
ha
e
w
d
an
n
fu
g
vin
when you are ha
.
hope will do just that
nse of
to help people make se
m
ai
e
w
,
m
eu
us
M
ce
At the Scien
people
e want to encourage
W
.
es
liv
r
ou
es
ap
sh
the science that
n to our
things work. In additio
w
ho
r
ve
co
dis
d
an
to ask questions
range
ve a huge and diverse
ha
e
w
e,
es
th
e
lik
es
iti
shows and activ
e
es that you can explor
or
st
r
ou
in
d
an
ay
pl
of objects on dis
site.
museum or to our web
r
ou
to
it
vis
a
h
ug
ro
th
to enjoy
e the Science Museum
us
to
e
inu
nt
co
ill
w
u
We hope yo
ith your students.
and discover science w
Jean M Franczyk
ience Museum
Director of Learning, Sc
Live on Tour! Activity and information pack www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/liveontour
3
A brief history of the Science Museum
as an
The Science Museum
existence
in
en
be
institution has
a half.
d
an
ry
for about a centu
eat
Gr
the
in
s
It has its origin
Hyde
in
ld
he
,
51
Exhibition of 18
ing
ild
bu
ss
gla
ge
Park in the hu
e.
lac
Pa
al
yst
Cr
known as the
ience
Art, antiquities and sc
ts were
jec
ob
g
and engineerin
new
o
int
re
moved from the
ition
hib
Ex
on
y
buildings nearb
uth
So
the
d
Road and calle
Kensington Museum.
From 1862 major objects from the
Patent Office Museum were displayed
at the South Kensington Museum,
including the steam locomotives
Puffing Billy and Stephenson’s
Rocket. These objects were formally
transferred to the South Kensington
Museum in 1883, bringing into the
Museum’s collection some of its most
famous objects.
In 1909 the go
vernment offic
ially split the
and science co
art
llections of th
e South Kensi
Museum. The
ngton
art collection
remained in th
original build
e
ings and was
renamed the
and Albert Mus
Vi
ct
oria
eum after the
late queen an
husband. But
d her
the science co
llection moved
new building
into a
across the ro
ad and was gi
name. The Sci
ven a new
ence Museum
was finally bo
rn.
of the
In December 1931, the then Director
ned a
ope
ns,
Lyo
ry
Museum, Colonel Sir Hen
any
in
kind
its
of
t
children’s gallery, the firs
ulate
stim
to
was
aim
museum in the world. The
nce
scie
in
n
dre
chil
of
the interest and curiosity
ve
acti
attr
and
ple
and technology using sim
king models.
displays and a large number of wor
Live on Tour! Activity and information pack www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/liveontour
4
The Second World Wa
r
closed the Museum
completely, with most
of
the collection removed
to
storage away from Lo
ndon.
Some smaller objects
from
the collection were sto
red
in disused tunnels of the
London Underground.
The
Museum didn’t properl
y
reopen until about 1950
.
In 1976 the Science Museum acquired the
Wellcome Collection of the History of Medicine
on permanent loan. This collection of 113,000
objects includes microscopes, mummies and
all sorts in-between.
Launchpad, first opened in 1986,
was another new development in
the understanding of technology.
By means of specially designed
interactive ‘hands on’ exhibits,
visitors, and especially children,
k
could discover the ways things wor
through their own use of them.
d gallery
test Launchpa
ever
In 2007 the la
and better than
opened, bigger
ho
y uses
w-look galler
before. The ne
illustrating
ctive exhibits
over 50 intera
physical
t concepts in
many differen
lable
iners are avai
science. Expla
ts work,
te how exhibi
to demonstra
d perform
periments an
public.
conduct live ex
d the visiting
an
s
ol
ho
sc
shows to
At the start of a new millennium
the Museum has expanded
into a new extension called
the Wellcome Wing, opened in
June 2000 by HM the Queen.
The Wellcome Wing houses
exhibitions of present and future
science and technology.
Live on Tour Activity and information pack www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/liveontour
5
The Science Museum’s Past,
Present and Future
The Science Museum has a collection of over 220,000 objects from the past which are looked after by Museum
staff. But it is up to the inventors and scientists of the future to create the objects that will fill the Museum in the
years to come. Let’s find out about a famous inventor of the past, a curator very much involved in the Museum’s
present and an inventor who is hoping to influence the Museum’s future.
James Watt was an inventor who helped power the Industrial
Revolution. Several of his inventions and possessions are on
display in the Science Museum.
James Watt was born in Scotland in 1736 and lived until
1819. He was an inventor and engineer who spent much of
his life using science to make money. He invented a new type
of steam engine which is said to have sparked the Industrial
Revolution. This was a time when lots of people’s lives
changed dramatically; they moved from the countryside to
cities and started to work in factories instead of on farms.
James Watt started off as a scientific instrument-maker. It
was this that brought his attention to the steam engine. He
came across a model of an early engine used for teaching that
needed to be repaired. Watt didn’t think it was very good and
started experimenting with steam, temperature and engines.
He eventually came up with a new design for an engine which
worked much better, however, he didn’t have the money to
produce it.
Name:
Ben Russell
Length of time at the
Science Museum:
12 years
What is a curator?
Someone who works in a
museum or gallery looking
after objects and putting them
together in exhibitions to tell stories.
What’s the best part of your job?
Spending lots of time surrounded by old objects and
moving big, heavy things around with fork-lift trucks.
How did you become a curator?
I studied history at school and just always wanted to
work in museums.
What’s your favourite object?
One of the big old beam engines. These are huge
factory engines that are run on steam and shaped like
the letter T.
What’s the strangest object you’ve seen in
the collection?
Somewhere hidden away in a drawer is a very old
ceramic tile showing a man sitting in a field playing a
flute and having a poo at the same time...
So in 1774 Watt joined Matthew Boulton, who was a very
powerful man in Birmingham, and they became friends. With
Boulton’s money Watt finally developed and made his engine.
The Science Museum has the oldest surviving engine built by
Boulton and Watt.
Watt’s engines and influence spread across the country. His
steam engines pumped out mines and drove factories, and
helped create new industrial areas all over the country. Britain
was getting richer and people could buy all sorts of new
products; from fancy clothing to nice looking plates and cups.
Watt has been compared to Great Britons like Sir Isaac
Newton and William Shakespeare. There was even a memorial
to him placed in Westminster Abbey; the first one put there
for an engineer. Its size was so great that the floor collapsed,
revealing coffins buried underneath.
Live on Tour Activity and information pack www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/liveontour
What do you think is the biggest thing in the
collection?
There’s a big red mill engine in the middle of the
Energy Hall at the Museum. It’s massive and weighs
hundreds of tonnes. It used to power over 1700 power
looms in a textile factory.
Where do all of the objects come from?
We collect objects from all over the place. Some
things we buy because we think they are important,
other people give us things or leave them to us
after they die. My favourite story is of a curator
digging up a dead body to retrieve an object from
somebody’s coffin.
Have you ever broken anything?
I’ve never broken anything, but I once did drop an
extremely old and valuable coin, the only one like it in
the world. Unfortunately it didn’t belong to the Science
Museum, but luckily for me it was OK!
6
Mark Champkins is the Inventor in
Residence at the Science Museum
When did you know you wanted to
become an inventor?
I always liked making things; it didn’t
really feel like work. At home I’d be
making go-karts and tree houses. In
school I enjoyed lessons where you
got to make something or use tools
and machinery. I went into engineering and product
design and they naturally combined to being an inventor.
Which of your inventions are you most proud of?
My self-heating crockery which uses the chemical found
in hand warmers. You press a button and the crockery
heats up and keeps your food warm. You can then put it
in the dishwasher to recharge it with heat energy.
How do you come up with your ideas?
Firstly noticing things; noticing problems and noticing
how things are made. When you do this it makes you
more curious about why it’s done like that and if there
is a better way to do it. Then you can start to think about
combining two things that currently exist in a new way. I
think a lot of my ideas have come about like that.
Have you ever invented something that hasn’t worked?
I think before any good invention you usually have to do
lots of things that don’t work in order to get to the right
solution.
Who is your inventing idol?
I like unlikely inventers. There’s a guy called Percy Shaw
who invented cat’s eyes. He didn’t have a track record of
inventing things but just had an amazing insight when he
was driving. His headlights lit up the eyes of a cat and he
realised the reflective ability of a sphere of glass.
Does it help working in the Science Museum?
It’s absolutely brilliant! It’s hard not to come up with
ideas when you’re surrounded by so many. It’s quite
humbling as well because it’s very rare that anybody
comes along with an idea good enough to be in the
Science Museum.
What would like to invent that hasn’t been invented yet?
Well the big thing at the moment is fusion; getting vast
amounts of energy from nuclear reactions like those that
take place in the Sun. It would wonderful to do something
on a local level; if homes and cars could generate their
own fusion.
What are you working on at the moment?
I’m making things for the Museum to sell. Some products
show off scientific principles, like using magnets to make
levitating cutlery. I’m also trying to make stationary more
interesting. I had an idea recently about making a pencil
with marks on it showing you how many words you’ve
written once you’ve worn the pencil down to that level.
I’m going to have to do lots of experiments and writing to
find out!
What would you say to a budding young inventor?
You need to be very persistent, to keep noticing things
and be inquisitive about things. Although it might drive
adults crazy, I suggest you keep asking why things are
the way they are.
Live on Tour Activity and information pack www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/liveontour
On the next page and throughout this activity pack you’ll
find some cool fact files about our curators’ favourite
objects. In the back of the pack you’ll find a blank fact
file. You can print this off and have a go at curating
yourself by creating your very own fact files on your
favourite objects, whether they’re cars, clothes or
computers.
7
Stephenson’s Rocket
Fact file
Key information
Rocket was built by Robert
Stephenson and Company in
Newcastle and was the most
advanced steam engine of its
day. It was built for the Rainhill
Trials, a competition to find the
best steam engine for the brandnew Liverpool to Manchester
railway. The Rocket was by far
the best engine, bringing together
lots of brand-new engineering
innovations; this created the
template for most steam
locomotives since.
Year built: 1829
Maximum speed: 56 km/h (35 mph)
Mass: 4320 kg
Fuel type: Coke/coal
Best fact: During its working life
Rocket was modified several times,
so today it looks quite different from
how it looked at the Rainhill Trials.
Historical importance rating: 5/5
Live on Tour Activity and information pack www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/liveontour
8
Enigmatic energy
Energy is an awesome thing – it makes our world work! But did you
know it can’t be created or destroyed, only transformed from one kind
to another? Let’s have a look at some different kinds of energy...
Kinetic energy
Things that move have kinetic energy. The heavier a thing is and the faster
it moves, the more kinetic energy it has. Anything that moves has kinetic
energy, including planets, people and even the atoms they’re made from!
Chemical energy
Lots of chemical reactions give off energy. For example, when something
explodes, stored chemical energy is transferred to the surroundings as
thermal energy, sound energy and kinetic energy.
Thermal Energy (Heat Energy)
Thermal energy is energy that comes from heat. Hot soup has thermal
energy in the form of kinetic energy that comes from its particles vibrating
– this is what heat really is. Some of this energy is transferred from the
soup to the particles in the air around it as it’s left to cool.
Light energy
Light is made of tiny packets of energy that move in waves. Light comes
from a source such as the Sun or light bulbs. It travels really fast in
straight lines until it hits something, when some light is absorbed and
some is reflected. This reflected light is how we see the things around
us. When something absorbs light energy, it converts it into heat energy.
Plants convert light energy into chemical energy in order to grow.
Sound energy
When a tuning fork vibrates it transfers energy to the air as sound.
Kinetic energy from the moving air molecules transfers the sound
energy to your eardrums.
Nuclear energy
Nuclear energy is released through fission, when atoms are split up; and
fusion, when pairs of atoms are joined together. Nuclear power plants use
fission to release energy and make electricity. Fusion occurs in the Sun
and can release a lot more energy, so people are trying to develop fusion
reactors to make electricity.
Live on Tour Activity and information pack www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/liveontour
9
Electrical energy
When electric charges move in a wire an electric current flows. Electrical
energy is very useful as it can be converted into many different types of energy.
Toasters use a special wire to convert electrical energy into heat energy. In
light bulbs, any heat that is produced is wasted energy, so an energy efficient
bulb transfers less of its energy into heat and more into light energy.
Magnetic energy
Magnets create invisible magnetic fields. They fill the space around a magnet
where the magnetic forces work. Magnetism and electricity are closely linked.
When an electric current flows in a coil of wire it creates a magnetic field. We
call this an electromagnet, a magnet that can be turned on and off. Power
stations rotate a coil of wire in a magnetic field to produce an electric current.
Potential energy
Gravitational potential energy
An object on a high shelf has lots of stored energy because of its position
above the ground and the pull of gravity. This is called gravitational potential
energy – it’s the energy that would be released if the object fell. If this
happens, the gravitational potential energy is converted into kinetic energy.
Elastic potential energy
An elastic material, such as a spring, bouncy ball or elastic band, can change
shape. Energy is needed to do this and that energy is stored as elastic
potential energy in the material when it is stretched or squashed. When the
material is allowed to spring back to its original shape, the stored energy is
transferred as kinetic energy.
Want to see energy transfers at work? Check this out:
www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/videos/onthemove.aspx
On the Move is an amazing video about an enormous and extraordinary machine built from
materials including an armoured personnel carrier, a bow and arrow, and even a pink toy poodle.
It demonstrates the many ways you can transfer energy.
Why not try making a machine just like this for yourselves from things you can
find around your house?
Live on Tour Activity and information pack www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/liveontour
10
A
B
D
C
Grab this stuff:
A 2 plastic bottles with long thin necks
Paddle Power
1
B Electrical tape
C Elastic band
D Curvy lollypop stick
2
Tape your two plastic
bottles together around
the widest parts of the bottles.
Live on Tour Activity and information pack www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/liveontour
Put your elastic band
around the top of the two bottles,
close to where the lids are.
11
3
4
Put your lollypop
stick through the middle of the
elastic band and use a second
band to secure it in place.
Turn the
lollypop stick round and round so
the elastic band twists up. Then
release it and check that the
lollypop stick is able to turn freely.
Top tip!
5
You’re
now ready
for your
maiden
voyage!
When you put your paddle boat in the water
you might find it floats too high for the paddle
to work effectively. Try adding an equal
amount of water to each bottle as ballast –
keep adding more until there’s just enough to
make your boat float low enough!
What’s happening…
When the paddle is fully wound up,
and the elastic band is taut and ready
to unravel, we say the paddle has
lots of potential energy, energy that’s
waiting to be released. When you let go
of the paddle it starts to turn, and the
potential energy changes into kinetic
energy. If you allow this to happen
in water the kinetic energy will be
transferred to the whole boat and
the boat will move.
Live on Tour! Activity and information pack www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/liveontour
12
Hydrogen-powered urban car
Fact file
Key information
This car, built by British company
Riversimple LLP, is powered by a
small stack of fuel cells which use
hydrogen to produce electricity. The
car also captures and stores energy
when it brakes. Other cars have this
kind of technology but the unique thing
about this car is that it follows a ‘whole
system’ design approach. It has been
carefully crafted to make best use of
the widest possible range of energy
efficient elements. Instead of trying to
squeeze the parts into a car architecture
designed for a petrol engine, Riversimple
have rethought the whole design. By
removing all the unnecessary parts they
have made the car as light and therefore
energy-efficient as possible.
Live on Tour Activity and information pack www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/liveontour
Year built: 2010
Maximum speed: 80 km/h (50 mph)
Mass: 350 kg
Fuel type: Hydrogen Gas
Best fact: With pilot schemes starting
in 2013/14, people will not be able to
buy a Riversimple car; they will only be
able to rent it by taking out a contract in
the same way mobile phone packages
are sold to customers.
Historical importance rating: ?/5
(too early to tell)
13
Glorious gravity
Gravity is a natural force that makes objects attract one another. In everyday
life, gravity is most familiar as the force that gives weight to objects and
causes them to fall to the ground when dropped. Gravity is also responsible
for keeping the planets orbiting around the Sun, the Moon orbiting around the
Earth, and our tides.
The fight for gravity
Weight v. mass
Sir Isaac Newton is known to some as the father of gravity,
but others disagree. Newton worked at the Royal Society
alongside another talented scientist called Robert Hooke,
and the two regularly wrote to each other discussing the
latest scientific theories. In one of these letters Hooke
brought up the subject of gravity and very briefly outlined
an idea he had about it. Hooke’s idea inspired Newton
to go off and work on the problem himself. Newton
expanded Hooke’s idea and created the ‘theory of universal
gravitation’. When Newton published this theory, Hooke
claimed Newton had stolen his idea, and that he should be
recognised as the true discoverer of gravity. The debate
raged, but was never really settled. The only thing we
can say with any confidence is that gravity was definitely
discovered by one of them. Which one do you think it was?
Did you know mass and weight are actually different things?
The mass of an object is just how much matter it contains,
which is the same wherever the object is. The weight of an
object is the force its mass is exerting because of gravity, so
objects will have different weights in different places, such as
on planets where gravity is weaker or stronger than on Earth.
Issac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton
Did you know...?
No picture of Robert Hooke exists. The
only known portrait is missing presumed
destroyed, and the main suspect just
happens to be Isaac Newton!
V
Robert Hooke
Full name
Robert Hooke
4 January 1643
Date of birth
18 July 1635
Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth, Lincolnshire
Place of birth
Freshwater, Isle of Wight
Mathematician, astronomer, natural
philosopher, alchemist and theologian
Job description
Natural philosopher, architect and polymath
Describing universal gravitation and his
three laws of motion
Claim to fame
Known for his law of elasticity, Hooke’s
law and for first applying the word ‘cell’ to
describe the basic unit of life
The cat flap
Best invention
The balance spring, a device which allowed
the first ever portable clocks and watches
Live on Tour Activity and information pack www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/liveontour
14
A
C
B
Grab this stuff:
A three different-sized balls
B one large separator
C one small separator
Ball Blaster
1
See energy transfer in
action by blasting a ball
up into the air
Stack the three balls on top
of each other using the
separators to keep
them apart.
Top tip!
Make sure the balls are completely
aligned in a straight line one above the
other before dropping them.
What’s happening…
This experiment is a great way to
demonstrate the transfer of energy.
Energy cannot be created or destroyed,
only transferred from one form to
another. When you bounce the small
ball on its own, it doesn’t bounce very
high. When you drop all three balls
together, the lower balls transfer a
large amount of energy to the smallest
top ball and it bounces much higher.
Live on Tour Activity and information pack www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/liveontour
2
Hold the
balls in front
of you with
your arms
stretched out
and drop the
balls and see
what happens.
15
V2 rocket or Vergeltungswaffe 2
Fact file
Key information
The V2 was an unmanned guided
ballistic missile built by Germany
during the Second World War. In
its time it was the largest rocket
that had ever been built and was
feared because of its huge range
and silent approach, meaning
it could strike anywhere with
devastating effect.
Year built: 1943
Maximum speed: 5760 km/h (3580 mph)
Mass: 12,500 kg
Fuel type: Water and liquid oxygen
Best fact: Early prototypes of the
V2 rocket were painted in a
black-and-white pattern. This colour
scheme was designed to aid in
tracking the rocket after launch.
Historical importance rating: 4/5
Live on Tour Activity and information pack www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/liveontour
16
Fantastic forces
Forces can make things speed up, slow down, change direction and
even change shape. Without them our universe would fall apart! We’ve
already explored gravity, so let’s have a look at a few other forces and
what they do.
Friction
Upthrust
You get friction when you try to move two surfaces over
each other. It acts in the opposite direction to the movement
and makes it harder for things to move. Try rubbing your
hands together as fast as you can and see what happens.
Then, as you’re rubbing, try pushing your hands harder
together. Now smell your hands. Friction makes your
hands heat up, your palms grip each other and your flesh
burn! Rough surfaces produce more friction then smooth
surfaces.
Question: How does a massive oil tanker that weighs
thousands of tonnes still manage to float?! Answer: Upthrust!
This force pushes any object in a liquid or gas upwards, as
long as the object is lighter than the amount of liquid or
gas it’s pushing out of the way. So that huge, massive oil
tanker weighing thousands of tonnes is still lighter than the
huge, massive amount of water that would take its place if it
weren’t there!
Friction can be useful; it acts between our shoes and the
floor to stop us slipping and it acts between the tyres of a
car and the road to stop the car skidding. Friction can also
be a nuisance. As we’ve experienced with our hands, it
converts kinetic energy into heat energy, which is usually
wasted. We can reduce friction by oiling or lubricating
the surfaces. This means that the surfaces no longer rub
directly on each other but slide past on a layer of oil. This
makes it much easier to move them and less kinetic energy
is converted to heat energy.
Air resistance
If you’ve ever fallen out of a plane and forgotten to wear a
parachute, you’ve probably thought a bit about air resistance
as you’ve plummeted towards the ground. You probably
thought, ‘I wish I remembered that parachute!’
It’s best to think about air resistance by imagining air
molecules as little balls. When an object is moving these little
air molecules will be hitting the object. The bigger and flatter
the object, the more of those molecules will hit it, causing
more resistance and slowing it down. A parachute’s big open
canopy will catch lots of these air molecules, causing lots of
resistance as you fall through the air.
Live on Tour Activity and information pack www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/liveontour
17
E
B
A
C
D
Grab this stuff:
Handy
Hovercraft
A Old unwanted CD
Create your own
friction-defying
hovercraft
D Balloon
1
Grab your
CD. Put your finger on
top of the hole in the centre and
slowly run your finger out towards the
edge of the CD. Repeat the process on
the other side. On one side of the CD you
should feel a small ridge near the centre
hole. This would cause friction on your
finished hovercraft, so place your CD
down with this ridge pointing upwards.
Live on Tour! Activity and information pack www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/liveontour
B Sports bottle cap
C Lump of modelling clay
E Collar template
2
Roll your lump of
modelling clay into a sausage
shape and push it around the
bottom edge of your bottle cap.
18
3
Push the bottle cap
down onto your CD
over the top of the
centre hole.
4
When you’ve
done, make
sure the
sports cap
is closed.
Use any
leftover modelling clay to add
around the edge of your bottle cap.
Make sure it’s stuck to the CD as firmly
as possible and that the seal is airtight,
but also check that you can still blow air
through your sports cap when it’s open.
5
Make up your collar template
and attach it around the
sports cap and the neck of
the balloon.
Blow up your
balloon and put the opening
of it onto the sports cap.
6
Put your
hovercraft on
a flat, smooth
surface such
as a table
or laminate
floor, open
the sports cap
and watch as
your hovercraft
glides gently
across the
surface.
If you open the
sports cap, air from the balloon
should come rushing out and stop
when you close the cap again.
Live on Tour Activity and information pack www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/liveontour
19
Top tip!
What’s happening…
When you open the sports cap, air
from the balloon rushes underneath
the CD, causing the CD to lift slightly
so it’s no longer touching the surface
– the CD is effectively floating on a
cushion of air. If you give the CD a
push it will glide on this cushion of
air. No part of the CD is touching the
surface, so there’s very little friction,
allowing the CD to glide further and
faster than it would normally.
Live on Tour Activity and information pack www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/liveontour
Twist the neck of the balloon before
attaching it to the sports cap. This stops
too much air escaping as you attach the
balloon.
20
Hovercraft collar template
1
Grab this stuff...
2
Fold it in half along the centre line.
4
Cut out the squares A and B and write your name or
the name of the hovercraft in the appropriate box.
Cut around the outside of the template.
3
Tape the top of the template together, along the
boxes marked C.
5
Curl the template around so that your name is on
the outside and the two boxes marked D meet up.
Put a small piece of tape along the boxes marked
D, so that the template can easily be pulled apart
and reattached when necessary.
Live on Tour Activity and information pack www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/liveontour
21
SR-N1 (Saunders Roe Nautical 1) hovercraft
Fact file
Key information
Year built: 1958
The SR-N1 was built by Saunders Roe
Ltd on the Isle of Wight, based on ideas
by the British engineer Christopher
Cockerell. It was the first craft of its
kind. The SR-N1, like all hovercraft,
is supported by a cushion of highpressure air, forced down towards
the ground and contained within a
‘skirt’. Because they are supported
by a cushion of air, hovercraft are the
only vehicles that can travel equally
well over land, ice and water. In its
early days there were arguments over
weather the hovercraft should be
considered a boat or an aircraft.
Maximum speed: 93 km/h (58 mph)
Live on Tour Activity and information pack www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/liveontour
Mass: 7000 kg
Fuel type: Petrol
Best fact: The SR-N1 has a large
dent in the front, caused by the Duke
of Edinburgh (the Queen’s husband)
driving it at excessive speeds shortly
after its maiden voyage. This damage
has never been repaired and is
affectionately known as the ‘royal dent’.
Historical importance rating: 2/5
22
Grab this stuff:
2 A4 paperback books
1
Place your two
books on a flat surface with the opening
sides of the books facing each other and
the spines away from each other.
2
Super-Strong
Friction
See just how strong
friction can be!
Top tip!
Overlap at least two-thirds of each page
to get the best results.
3
Carefully
interleave the
pages, and
ensure almost
every page
from one book
is overlapped
with a page
from the other.
Be amazed that the books
are held together just by the
super strength of friction!
What’s happening…
If you look at a sheet of paper under a
microscope you’ll see it’s actually very
rough. When two sheets rub together
these rough parts catch against each
other, causing lots of friction. Although
two pages only create a small amount
of friction to hold the pages together,
when two whole books of pages rub
against each other, the amount of friction
becomes huge. This is what stops you
pulling them apart!
Live on Tour Activity and information pack www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/liveontour
Now have a tug of
war: one person grabs the spine of
one book, another person grabs the
spine of the other – and pull!
23
Marvellous materials
Materials – things that your gran uses to make you a jumper. But wait!
Everything in the whole universe that’s either a solid, liquid or gas is
also actually a material, which makes it a much more exciting subject
than you might expect...
Atoms
Cornflour slime
When you’re looking at materials you have to start small.
So small, you can’t even see the things we want to look at.
Atoms make up every material in the universe, and atoms
themselves are made of even smaller bits and pieces.
Atoms can act in different ways to make the materials
they make up act in different ways...
Not all materials fit neatly into being either a solid, liquid or
gas. You can make a material at home that sometimes acts
like a solid and sometimes like a liquid. Get some cornflour
from the supermarket, and put about 100 grams in a bowl.
Then very slowly add water and mix it around, until you feel
it start to push against your fingers. Be warned – this gets
pretty messy!
Solids, liquids, gases
Liquid nitrogen
Take water, for example. If you have a cup of liquid water
and you stick it in the freezer, you’re removing some of the
heat energy from the atoms in the water. This means the
atoms don’t move as much, and the water becomes solid
(ice!). Put the same cup of water in a kettle, and you’re
adding heat energy – this makes the atoms move much
more, until they break free from each other and the water
boils and becomes a gas.
What’s the coldest thing in the world you can think of?
Where’s the coldest place you’ve ever been? Neither of these
will come close to the shockingly low temperature of liquid
nitrogen: at –196 °C, swimming in this liquid would cause
death by frostbite in less than a minute! Almost anything that
comes into contact with it will freeze in seconds, changing its
properties with lightning speed.
Live on Tour Activity and information pack www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/liveontour
24
A
E
C
B
D
G
F
Grab this stuff:
A Large clear container
B 2 small bottles
Separating
Water
C 2 glass tumblers
See how the temperature
of water affects how
it behaves.
F Electrical tape
1
D Blue and red food colouring
E Hot, lukewarm and cold water
G Modelling clay
2
Fill the large
plastic container with water before
the audience enter. Try and fill it
with equal parts of warm and cold
water so it’s just lukewarm.
Live on Tour Activity and information pack www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/liveontour
Attach the small
bottles to the top of the
tumblers using electrical tape.
25
3
Put a couple of drops of red
food colouring into one of
the small bottles and fill it
with hot water. Then, seal
it with modelling clay and
gently squeeze the bottle
to make sure no air
can escape.
4
Again, put
a couple of drops of blue food
colouring into the other small
bottle, fill it with cold water and
seal it with modelling clay.
5
Lower both glasses
into the large plastic container
and once they’re in position
remove the modelling clay.
Top tip!
Watch as the hot water and
the cold water behave in
very different ways.
The hotter your hot water and the colder
your cold water the better this experiment
will work.
What’s happening…
The molecules of water are all behaving
differently. The molecules of hot water
have lots of heat energy and so are
moving around lots and taking up lots
of space. This makes the hot water
less dense (lighter) than the lukewarm
water and so it floats to the top.
The cold water is the exact opposite: it
has less heat energy so its molecules
are taking up less space than the
lukewarm water, making it more
dense so it sinks.
Live on Tour Activity and information pack www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/liveontour
26
Teachers’ notes
Page 4
Page 6
A brief history of the Science Museum
The Science Museum’s Past,
Present and Future
This timeline is a very brief outline of how the Science
Museum was formed and how it acquired some of its most
famous objects. More information can be found here:
www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/about_us
Following this structure your students could create a timeline
of their own.
What goes on display in the Museum is the choice of
our hugely experienced team of curators and exhibition
developers. Give your students the chance to curate
their own set of objects by filling in their own set of fact
file cards.
Educational objective
Educational objective
To create a timeline of important events in the history
of a famous place, person or team, based on a variety of
different sources.
To use prior knowledge and observational skills to choose
objects, give them a score based on their properties, and
gather key information and interesting facts about them.
What to do…
What to do…
Get your students to choose their favourite place, person or
team, and ask them to create a timeline with at least five
different entries on it. Each entry should include a date, a fact
and where that fact came from.
In the very back of this pack you’ll find a blank version of the
fact file cards used throughout the pack. Show the students
the fact files in the pack, then give them five photocopied
or printed versions of the blank cards. Ask them to choose
objects that they find interesting and fill in a fact file card
for each one. When they’ve finished you should have lots
of different fact files on lots of different objects. Lay them
all out, take a vote to find out what the class’s ten favourite
objects are, and use these fact files in a wall display.
Key student learning
• Everything has a history.
• Different periods of time have recognisable characteristics
and these characteristics shape events that happen during
that period.
• There are many different sources of information on
historical events.
• Sources sometimes contradict each other.
Curriculum links
• Placing events, people and changes into correct periods
of time.
• Using dates and vocabulary relating to the passing of time,
including ancient, modern, BC, AD, century and decade.
• How to find out about the events, people and changes
studied from an appropriate range of sources of
information.
Key student learning
• Some objects have a more important role in the way we
live our lives, or have had a bigger historical impact,
than other objects – but this isn’t always a factor in their
appeal.
• Curators and exhibition developers have hundreds of
objects to choose from – not all objects can be shown
at the same time and different things can affect which
objects are chosen.
Extensions
• Get the students to create fact files for objects that have
not been invented yet. What objects will a museum of the
future hold?
• Recall, select and organise historical information.
Live on Tour Activity and information pack www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/liveontour
27
Page 9
Page 11
Enigmatic energy
Paddle Power
Energy transfer machines have been around for a long
time. You can see examples that may or may not work in the
cartoons of William Heath-Robinson or Rube Goldberg, or in
hugely intricate and expensively produced TV adverts from
international car-makers. Why not let On the Move inspire
you to make your own energy transfer machine?
Educational objective
Educational objective
To use knowledge of energy transfer and the properties of
materials to create an inefficient machine to do a simple task.
What to do…
Split your class into small groups, giving each group a simple
task to achieve, in the most convoluted manner possible,
with the aid of an inefficient machine. Ideas for tasks could
be: feed the cat, pour a glass of water or a bowl of cereal, or
empty the bin.
When each machine is ready, film it (if you can from several
angles) and cut the footage together using a simple movie
editing package.
Perhaps think of holding a film day so other classes can see
the amazing machines created.
To explore energy transfer, showing elastic potential energy
being changed into kinetic energy.
Key student learning
• Potential energy (stored in the ‘primed’ elastic band) can
be transformed into kinetic energy, seen in the movement
of the boat.
Practicalities
• If you’re choosing to launch your paddle boat on a large
pond or lake, tie some cotton or string to your boat so you
can keep hold of it. Otherwise, when the twists in the elastic
band eventually run out, your boat will be left stranded in
the middle of the water.
• Although adding ballast to the bottles will allow your boat
to sit at a better height in the water, too much will make
your boat sink.
• If your band is unwinding too quickly, try crafting a plastic
tab that will hit your paddle every time it goes round,
thereby slowing it down.
Key student learning
Discussion
• Potential energy can be transformed into other types of
energy, in lots of different ways.
• Why is the boat floating?
Practicalities
• Give the class lots of different materials, and also
encourage them to use their imagination and use things
from around the room they are in.
• Which direction are you applying a force? Which direction is
the boat travelling?
• If you add more turns to the elastic band will it go faster
or further?
Extensions
• Machines can be big or small, but pupils should be made
aware of any limitations.
• Allow students to experiment with creating their own
paddles.
• Some of the best ideas can take time to work out and be
rather frustrating – consider running the workshop over two
or three sessions, the first few to practise before building
the final machine in the final session.
• What happens if you add a rudder and change its angle?
• The setting up and filming can take a long time – remember
to plan for this in your sessions.
The Science Museum courses and resources team have also
produced an amazing resource called Launchbox, based on
the On the Move video.
Launchboxes allow students to investigate the six areas of
science covered in our Launchpad gallery:
• Light •S
ound
• Electricity and magnetism •E
nergy transfer
• Forces and motion •M
aterials
• Try adding extra bottles or paddles.
Curriculum links
Sc4 Physical processes
Forces and motion
• Friction, including air resistance, is a force that slows
moving objects and may prevent objects from starting
to move.
• When objects (for example, a spring or a table) are pushed
or pulled, an opposing pull or push can be felt.
Students will use investigative hands-on activities that lead
them to create their own ‘inefficient machine’.
For more information visit:
www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/educators/launchboxes.aspx
Live on Tour Activity and information pack www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/liveontour
28
Page 15
Page 18
Ball Blaster
Handy Hovercraft
Educational objective
Educational objective
To explore the transfer of energy between objects.
To explore friction by creating a vehicle that reduces this
force, allowing the vehicle to move.
Key student learning
• Energy cannot be created or destroyed but can be
transferred and stored.
Practicalities
• It is quite easy to lose the separators so have some
spare ones.
• The small ball can bounce very high and fast so the students
need to be careful not to hurt themselves or break anything
in the classroom.
Key student learning
• By floating on a cushion of air, a hovercraft reduces the
amount of friction between the vehicle and the ground,
allowing it to move quickly and smoothly.
Practicalities
• The more modelling clay you use to stick down your bottle
cap, the better it will stick. But this will also make your
hovercraft heavier and stop it working as effectively.
Discussion
• Make sure your modelling clay doesn’t block the hole in
your bottle cap.
• Would it work the other way around with the smallest ball
on the bottom?
• Blowing the balloon up can be a problem for some children,
so have a balloon pump on hand.
• Why does the small ball bounce so high?
• Attaching the balloon to the bottle cap can be frustrating.
Put the body of the hovercraft on a flat surface. When
you’ve inflated the balloon, twist the neck so that air can’t
escape, hold the body of the balloon between your elbows
and stretch the opening of the balloon with the thumb and
forefingers of both hands.
• Get the students to think about the transfer of energy from
gravitational potential energy to kinetic energy to elastic
potential energy to kinetic energy again.
Extensions
• Use different size balls.
• Drop from a higher height.
Curriculum links
KS2
Sc1 Scientific enquiry
• The collar is an important part of the hovercraft – without it
the balloon can flop over from its neck and run against the
ground, creating friction and stopping the hovercraft from
working effectively.
Discussion
• Why can hovercraft travel on water as well as on land?
Investigative skills
• Do you think hovercraft should be described as boats
or aeroplanes?
Ask questions that can be investigated scientifically and
decide how to find answers.
Curriculum links
Sc4 Physical processes
Forces and motion
When objects (for example, a spring, a table) are pushed or
pulled, an opposing pull or push can be felt.
KS2
Sc4 Physical processes
Forces and motion
Friction, including air resistance, is a force that slows moving
objects and may prevent objects from starting to move.
KS3
3.1
Energy, electricity and forces
a) E
nergy can be transferred usefully, stored, or dissipated,
but cannot be created or destroyed.
b) Forces are interactions between objects and can affect
their shape and motion.
Live on Tour Activity and information pack www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/liveontour
29
Page 23
Page 25
Super-Strong Friction
Separating Water
Educational objective
Educational objective
To explore friction and its strength by trying to pull
interleaved books apart.
Explore how the temperature of water affects its density with
two different bodies of water at different temperatures.
Key student learning
Key student learning
• Friction is a strong force.
• Density is about volume not weight.
• The greater the surface areas in contact the harder it is to
get the surfaces to slide against one another.
• Hot water is less dense than cold water.
Practicalities
• Heat rising applies not only to bodies of air but all materials.
• Paperback books work best.
• The more pages the books have, the more effective the
result will be.
• Objects with a lower density will float.
Practicalities
• It can be difficult to grasp the books to pull, so the bigger
your books the better.
• Put the large tank where you want it to be from the start
and then fill it with water using a smaller container such
as a bucket. Once the container is full it will be heavy and
difficult to move.
• Hands can slip off the books whilst pulling, so ensure
pupils are warned to be careful not to fall backwards if
this happens.
• For younger children it’s better to have the large tank
already filled and ready for groups to use, as this avoids
spillages and queues at the sink.
Discussion
• The amount of food colouring you’ll need will depend on the
size of your bottles, but the more you use the better.
• Why does this work?
• Would it still work if I used smaller books?
Curriculum links
KS2
Sc4 Physical processes
Forces and motion
Friction, including air resistance, is a force that slows moving
objects and may prevent objects from starting to move.
Discussion
• Why does the red water rise and the blue water sink?
• Whet will happen if we leave the tank for an hour after the
experiment has taken place?
Curriculum links
KS2
Sc3 Materials and their properties
Changing materials
d. Describe changes that occur when materials (for example,
water, clay, dough) are heated or cooled.
Live on Tour Activity and information pack www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/liveontour
30
Fact file
Key information
Year built:
Maximum speed:
Mass:
Fuel type:
Best fact:
Historical importance rating:
Live on Tour Activity and information pack www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/liveontour
31