Alpha science classroom：DIY Pendulum Wave Toy

Children will find in their lives that, like the swinging arms on a grandfather clock or the swings in the playground, hanging heavy objects are always swaying back and forth without knowing why. Today, the alpha science classroom gives children DIY Pendulum Wave Toy. Through this fun physical science experiments activity for children, explain to them what is the pendulum and what the principle of wavelength is. At the same time, let the children enjoy the fun of kid's science experiments projects and become happy scientists.

Alpha science classroom: DIY Pendulum Wave Toy, step-by-step tutorial

Step 1: Children carefully cut the foam core into the shape of the letter "I" about 8½ inches wide and 11 inches tall.

Step 2: Children cut two short strips from the remaining foam core.

Step 3: Children poke a hole in each corner of the "I" with a pencil. Then, use a pencil to widen it.

Step 4: Children use a pencil to poke a hole at each end of the long strip. Then, use a pencil to widen them.

Step 5: Children insert a dowel into each hole of the "I" shape and push the small strip of wood on top of the four dowels.

Step 6: The children place a dowel across the top and secure it with four rubber bands. The children tie about 18 inches of string around each bead.

Step 7: Children tie the first bead to the dowel, then, tie each successive bead to the dowel, each a little lower than the previous bead. Make sure the beads are evenly spaced.

Step 8: The children use an extra piece of foam core to push the beads out. Then, release your hand and observe what happens!

Alpha science classroom: DIY Pendulum Wave Toy Science Principles

Alpha science classroom teaches children that when pendulums swing back and forth, they make amazing patterns. This is because each pendulum has a slightly different period, the time it takes to complete a full swing. Think of the "ticking" sound of a vintage clock. That's a cycle! The period of a pendulum is determined by how long its string is. A long pendulum has a long period, meaning it takes a long time to swing back and forth. A short pendulum has a shorter period, so it swings faster. Because the strings on the pendulum toy go from long to short, so does the period of the pendulum. This means that each pendulum swings a little faster than the previous pendulum. So, since you release them at the same time and height, their different speeds make them go in and out of sync. They swing together and then move in a wave-like motion that sometimes looks completely chaotic!

As the children pulled back all the balls at the same time, they would swing back and forth at different speeds. As they swing, they seem to form a wave shape. This is the physical science mystery of a pendulum. Through this children's physical science experiments activity, Alpha Science Classroom hopes to show the charm of science for children, entertain them while letting them learn the knowledge in it, develop their learning ability, get the energy to grow from the kid's science experiments activity, and grow up to be the best scientists.

Similarly, alpha science toys have also prepared many physical science experiment kits for children and middle-aged children, exploring the scientific mysteries behind different phenomena with children and becoming the happiest scientist.