Education:Science Projects: Powerful Jumps
The kangaroo wins the prize for long jumps—it can jump as far as 40 feet (12 meters). That's as long as a school bus. Can you imagine jumping the length of a school bus in just one jump?!
Here’s a fun experiment: see if you can get a film canister to “jump!”
What you need
A film canister with
lid (the plastic type where you keep a roll of film before you put it
in a camera)
A bit of water
An Alka-Seltzer® tablet
AN ADULT (very important!)—Do
not do this experiment without an adult.
What you do
1. Put a bit of water in the film canister.
2. Drop in the Alka-Seltzer tablet.
3. Put the canister lid on.
4. Stand back and watch the film canister as it rockets into the air!
Now try the experiment again using a lot of water. Does the canister jump higher or not as high?
You can also do this experiment with baking soda and vinegar, or baking powder and water. See if you get the same results. But remember—an adult is the most important ingredient!
Do you know what PRONKING is? That is where an animal, usually an antelope or gazelle, will jump straight up into the air to get away from enemies. Jumping straight up often catches a hungry lion or leopard by surprise! The film canister in our experiment is “pronking.”
Catch Dr. Zoolittle in an entertaining show in the San Diego Zoo's Children's Zoo daily during the summer and every weekend and school holiday.
More
Animal
Bytes: Antelope, Kangaroo & Wallaby
Animal-themed Recipes: Kangaroo
Kabobs
