Simple Anti-Gravity Water Experiment for Kids

This post is part of a #sponsored blog tour on behalf of GenZ Read Together. I received complimentary access to the online stories and compensation for sharing my experience with you. All ideas and opinions expressed are my own. Your experience may differ. 

The Oldest Diva (7 years old) has recently discovered a love of non-fiction. She has also taken to "looking things up" whenever she has a question or sees something that sparks her interest. She is like a sponge, ready to "soak up" information and knowledge. It's wonderful. 

I enjoy encouraging her pursuit of knowledge so when I was asked to be a Blog Ambassador for GenZ Read Together - an online website that creates non-fiction stories for children in K thru 12 grade, I jumped at the opportunity. 

We read quite a few of the short stories online before selecting one of our favorites - Anita and Arabella in Space - to share with you. 

Anita and Arabella in Space
Did you know spiders have been sent to space? I had no idea until we read this non-fiction story. They were first sent to space to see if they would be able to spin webs without gravity. It took months of preparation and hard work but the scientists got the spiders out into space. After a few days and some failed attempts Anita and Arabella spun their webs successfully in space. 

After reading the story we discussed gravity and how it keeps us firmly planted on the ground. Inspired by the story we decided to conduct a simple anti-gravity experiment with water. 

What You Need:
cardboard
glass
water

What to Do:
Fill your glass to the top with water.

Place a piece of cardboard over the top and hold firmly.



Flip your glass over, holding the cardboard firmly in place. Then, let go of cardboard! 

Note: We did this over our kitchen sink to catch any water flow "just in case". I would advise doing it in a place you don't mind getting wet. When working with kids you always have to be prepared for the worst, right? 

 

The Lil Divas were amazed that the water did not flow out!  

Here's a video of a similar experiment from Steve Spangler using a handkerchief for a greater "wow" factor. 

Reading about Anita and Arabella sparked the Oldest Divas interest in learning about what other animals have been to space. She was captivated by this NASA video of monkeys, chimps and mice in space. 

We found a few books on the subject that were really interesting:

Space Dogs: Pioneers of Space Travel - This book is about the training of the  early space dogs, their experiences on those early flights and their unfortunate tragic accidents.

First In Space - This graphic novel is about Ham, a chimpanzee the Americans trained for the first sub orbital flight.

About GenZ

GenZ Online was created by academic experts and educators to provide children with short factual text in an electronic format. As children read the non-fiction stories with their parents and complete the simple questions they earn Zoints towards prizes. It's such an easy way for parents to encourage literacy at home.

Want to know more? You can Try GenZ for FREE right now! 

If you love it as much as we do and want to subscribe you can get 20 stories for $3.99 using the Special Promo Code - SUM20.  You can also enter to win one (1) of three (3) 20 story subscriptions to GenZ in our giveaway below.

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This is a Blog Tour!

Monday, July 29           The Lost Atocha Treasure (PragmaticMom)

Tuesday, July 30          The Invention of Velcro (Artchoo!)

Wednesday, July 31      Christian the Pet Lion Returns to the Wild 

                                  (No Twiddle Twaddle)

Thursday, August 1      The Deadliest Diamond (KC Edventures With Kids)

Friday, August 2           Anita and Arabella in Space 
                                  (Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas)

Good Luck & Happy Reading!

Bern