ALL ABOARD: WE’RE GATHERING STEAM
Want to see how the heart works?! This week’s focus on TECHNOLOGY is all about how a heart pumps in and out of its chambers.
You’ll need:
– Small Jar
– Cup
– 2 Bendy Straws
– Balloon
– Tape/Glue
– Water
– Red Food Colouring
– Toothpick
Instructions
1. Fill your jar halfway with water and add in your food colouring.
2. Take your balloon, cut the neck off it and stretch the top part over the jar’s mouth. Do not discard the neck part of the balloon, we’ll need that later.
3. Take a toothpick and poke a hole in the top of the balloon close to one side of the jar. Now, poke a second hole about an inch away from the first hole.
4. Take your straws and push one through each hole making sure the bendy part is sticking out the top.
5. Now take the neck part of the balloon and use it to cover up the opening of one of the straws and secure it with tape.
6. Place your cup under the other straw to catch the liquid.
7. It’s time to start pumping! Ask your child to push up and down on the balloon between the two straws. The “blood” will go up the open-ended straw and come out into the cup!
Our hearts have four chambers, and this activity shows kids an example of how one of those chambers works. Children will learn the technology behind how a heart pumps blood throughout your body when it stops beating on its own. Your child pressing up and down on the balloon is kind of like how a defibrillator works.
