Fun with Mad Science

Some of our Boardwalk communities have enjoyed visits from Mad Science, a fun and interactive experience that teaches kids how to make interesting scientific creations.  Our Residents loved it so much, we asked Mad Science to share how they made some of these fun and simple experiments.  Maybe you can try it yourself!

“With Mad Science, we discovered two fun applications of polymer chemistry by making colourful Slime and Bouncy Balls. Polymers are giant molecular chains that are found in everything from man-made plastics to our own finger nails! “

“To make the Mad Science Slime, we mixed a short-chain polymer with a cross-linker.  The cross-linker creates bonds between the short-chain polymers making long thick and “slimy” chains.“

“To make the Bouncy Balls, colourful crystals containing both short-chain polymers and a cross-linker were poured into moulds.  The crystal-filled moulds were submerged in water causing the crystals to dissolve and bond together.  In this case the long-chain polymers are highly elastic giving the resulting balls their “bounciness”.”

To learn more about Mad Science or to book them for an event, visit calgary.madscience.org . You can also visit them on Facebook at @MadScienceofSouthernAlberta.