Why does rubbing a balloon on your hair make it stick to the wall?
Open for the projector Present it step by step
Classroom mode
A question for the whole room
One story to open. A room full of ideas to test.
Ready in three steps
- Open the story.Read and try the first pages together.
- Pause for a prediction.At the story’s question, read its choices aloud. Invite a vote and ask, “What makes you think that?”
- Run it. Watch. Wonder.Choose the class’s prediction, run the experiment, and compare what happened with your guesses.
Different guesses are welcome. The experiment gives everyone something to rethink.
Something to put on paper
A one-page prediction and observation sheet. No answers included.
After the experiment: discussion notes
Talk about what happened
- Predict before testing: after the whole rubbed patch touches grounded metal in this model, will the balloon stick when returned to the wall and released?
- Predict whether a charged balloon can stick to a wall that has no extra charge of its own, then explain how the wall's own charges shift.
- Predict which day a balloon stays stuck longer — a damp summer day or a dry winter day — and say why.
Where it shows up in real life
- The zap and crackle when you pull a sweater off over your head
- Hair standing up after you take off a winter hat
- A balloon from a party clinging to the wall or the ceiling
Free · no login · no student accounts