Mrs. Schwartz’s fourth-grade class joined Mr. O’Brien in the Shelter Rock science lab to explore static electricity, proving to be a hair-raising experience for the students.
The students learned that when two objects rub against each other, electrons transfer from one to the other, creating a static charge. One object becomes positively charged, while the other becomes negatively charged. Objects with the same charge repel each other, while those with opposite charges attract.
In the first activity, students rubbed balloons on rabbit pelts to generate a static charge. They observed how the negative charge was attracted to various surfaces in the room, including themselves. The class also performed a science “magic” trick by using the negatively charged balloons to make soda cans roll across the floor.
Next, the class experimented with a Van de Graaff generator, an electrostatic device that uses a moving belt to accumulate electric charge on a metal globe, often resulting in static electricity effects such as hair standing on end.
