STREAM Activity: Galileo’s Gravity Experiment

Put on your scientist thinking cap and away we go to test dropping objects!

Activity best for children age 2 and up

Did you know gravity affects every single thing traveling through space? Gravity is the glue that holds the entire galaxy together and without the earth’s gravitational pull, we would float away!

Galileo was a famous scientist who was interested in gravity and lived over 500 years ago. He wanted to see if objects made of different materials and different weights would behave the same way when dropped from a high place. Galileo climbed up a high tower called the Leaning Tower of Pisa and dropped two cannonballs, each one made of different materials and each was a different weight. What do you think happened to the cannonballs? If something is heavy does it fall down faster or slower than something light? So Galileo discovered that if there is no air resistance then objects fall at the same rate of time. You have the chance to be like Galileo to repeat his famous gravity experiment at home! Put on your scientist thinking cap and away we go to test dropping objects!

Materials you’ll need:

Small piece of paper

Any object that is heavier than the paper (It must be something unbreakable)

Guiding Questions:

When you hold the objects in your hand do they feel to be the same weight? Or is one heavier than the other?

Make a prediction (guess) about which object will fall down faster? Which one will fall down slower?

Do you think they will both fall at the same speed? Why?

Directions

Step 1

Ask your grownup to help you find some paper and an unbreakable object that is heavier than the paper, like a ball, key chain or a pen.

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Step 2

Hold both objects at your eye level. 3,2,1- drop them both! Which one hit the ground first? It should be the heavier one.

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Step 3

Pick up the paper and crumple it up. Repeat the drop. 3,2,1-drop. What happened? Both objects should have hit the ground at the same time. When you crumpled up the paper it gets rid of most of the air resistance.

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Grown Ups-Are you looking for more ways to extend your child’s learning? Check out these extension activities to build upon today’s STREAM activity!

Reading Connections:

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Math Connections: 

Use a timer like a stopwatch to see how long it takes the objects to fall. Is there a way to slow them down?

Real-World Connections:

Galileo was always studying the night sky. Ask your grown up if you can take a peek at the night sky on a clear night. What do you see?