- Fold a piece of thin card in half. Then, draw a bug shape with three legs and large feet. You need to make sure the top of the bug starts at the fold, so you can open it out like a greeting card. Tip: you can make your bug any shape or size, but the bigger the bug, the bigger the feet need to be.
- Cut neatly around the shape, being careful not to cut along the fold. Then, fold the bugs feet horizontally (outwards) so the shape stands up on the floor.
- Fill a dish with water and wait for the water to stop moving. Now, gently place the bug on top, so the bottom of all its feet touch the surface at once. Can you make it balance on the water? Tip: Make sure the feet sit flat.
- Now tape a coin on each side of the bug. What happens?
You might want to follow this up with this video about surface tension (Note, it is a pond skater eating another animal!). If you enjoyed this, you might enjoy our other surface tension experiment - milk marbling.
[…] needle sinks.If you enjoyed this, you might enjoy some of our other surface tension experiments: Bug walking on water, milk marbling, repelling water. Or take a look at the 6 pages of fun activities for you to do at […]
[…] you enjoyed this, you might also like our other activities; making a bug that walks on water, wax crayon and water art, making it rain in a jar, milk marbling and shadow drawing. You can find […]