• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Shop
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Amazon Favorites
  • My Account
  • Log Out

A Dab of Glue Will Do

Little Learners, Big Ideas

  • Literacy
  • Math
  • Science
  • Seasonal
  • Teacher Ideas
  • Membership
Home
  • SHOP
  • Blog
    • Literacy
    • Math
    • Science
    • Seasonal
    • Teacher Ideas
  • Membership
  • Amazon Favorites
  • About

PSPKK12

Static Electricity Experiment for Kids

I'd love it if you shared!

1.1K shares
  • Facebook2
  • Twitter
  • Reddit

Learning about static electricity is often one of the first hands-on science lessons children receive. Whether it’s rubbing a balloon on their hair or arriving at the bottom of a plastic slide and getting a little shock, most kids are pretty familiar with static electricity! Add Static Electricity Experiment for Kids as a fun little science trick that children (and adults) will love.

Using a balloon and static electricity, kids can "bend water" with this experiment

Getting Ready for Static Electricity Experiment for Kids:

There are a few different ways to bend water with static electricity. The method we used is simple and it allowed us to color the water with food coloring so we could see the bending effect even better. We gathered the following supplies:

  • Two small paper cups
  • Pushpin
  • Water
  • Food coloring
  • Balloon
  • Head of hair or wool cloth
  • Mixing bowl

I used a pushpin to poke a small hole in the bottom of one of the cups. Before inviting the kids over I tested the cup to make sure a small, but steady, stream of water would flow from the cup when it was filled with water.

I inflated the balloon and tied off the end so that we could use it to generate the static electricity we needed to bend water.

Bend Water with Static Electricity

We filled up one paper cup with water and added a couple drops of blue food coloring. My son took the balloon and rubbed it vigorously on his hair to create static electricity.

Need a simple science idea? Static Electricity Experiment for Kids is perfect for your STEM lesson in elementary classroom. Kids love easy science!

I held the cup with a hole in it directly over the mixing bowl. We poured the colored water into the cup with a hole in the bottom so there was a steady stream of water flowing out into the bowl.

My son held the charged balloon close to, but not touching, the stream of water. Sure enough, the stream veered off toward the balloon! It was so cool!

Another way to do this is to simply turn on the faucet to get a slow and steady stream of water. It works the same way, though using colored water is always fun for kids.

Need a simple science idea? Static Electricity Experiment for Kids is perfect for your STEM lesson in elementary classroom. Kids love easy science!

Bending water with static electricity works best on a dry day. If the air is too humid it may not work, for reasons explained below.

The Science Behind Static Electricity Experiment for Kids

Rubbing a balloon on a head of hair or a piece of wool cloth generates static electricity. This means that some of the electrons from the hair or wool move onto the balloon. This gives the balloon a slight negative charge that makes it attract or repel other objects, not unlike a magnet.

Need a simple science idea? Static Electricity Experiment for Kids is perfect for your STEM lesson in elementary classroom. Kids love easy science!

Water is composed of an oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms that share their electrons unequally. This causes the hydrogen atoms to carry a slight positive charge. When the balloon is held close to a stream of water, the slightly negative balloon attracts the slightly positive hydrogen atoms in the water, making the stream of water bend toward the balloon.

If the air is too humid, water molecules in the air will stick to the extra electrons on the balloon, basically taking away its static charge.

Need More Science Ideas?

 

Magic Milk Experiment 

Sink or Float Experiment

Want science planned for you ALL YEAR LONG?!

Do you want science planned for the ENTIRE CALENDAR YEAR!? This Endless Science Mega Bundle will save you so much time and keep your students engaged and excited about learning. This amazing resource contains 53 science topics including life science, physical science, earth science, and animal studies.

This Static Electricity Experiment for Kids is a fun activity for children of all ages. It would be the perfect hands-on and engaging activity to do during your STEM lessons too!

Filed Under: Experiments Tagged With: First Grade, Kindergarten, Science

You May Also Enjoy These Posts

A metal can filled with water and ice with a piece of yarn dangling ice over the waterA scattered pepper science experimentA little girl looking at a glass full of liquid with food coloring

Reader Interactions

6 Comments

  1. Jenn

    November 2, 2018 at 4:00 pm

    I love the wow factor that comes with static experiments!

    Reply to this comment
    • Jennifer Hamilton

      November 5, 2018 at 12:21 pm

      YES!!! So do we! 🙂

      Reply to this comment
  2. Olin Andracki

    April 24, 2022 at 4:56 pm

    I used to be very pleased to search out this web-site.I wished to thanks on your time for this excellent learn!! I undoubtedly having fun with each little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to take a look at new stuff you blog post.

    Reply to this comment

Trackbacks

  1. 60 Very Simple Science Experiments Your Kids Will Love says:
    May 6, 2019 at 4:31 pm

    […] Bending Water|A Dab Of Glue Will Do […]

    Reply to this comment
  2. Five Senses Science Unit is a Hands-on Learning Activity says:
    July 21, 2019 at 7:04 am

    […] we dig into our science curriculum kids are amazed by our Walking Water Science Experiment and Static Electricity Experiment. They feel like little scientists as they document their findings in their very own Science […]

    Reply to this comment
  3. Balloon Science Experiments for Kids - Kids Art & Craft says:
    March 10, 2022 at 12:08 am

    […] Image Source/ Tutorial: A Dab of Glue Will Do […]

    Reply to this comment

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Grade Level Key

  • PS PreSchool
  • PK Pre-K
  • K Kindergarten
  • 1 First Grade
  • 2 Second Grade

Hello Friends!

I’m Jennifer…. I taught Kindergarten and 1st grade. At a Dab of Glue Will Do, we help busy teachers and their little learners by creating awesome classroom resources which makes teachers’ lives easier and encourages kids to love learning.

Meet the Team

Join the Club!

When you join the Dollar Teachers Club, you get access to all of the printable AND digital products we’ve ever made, all of our freebies, exclusive monthly resources made just for you, and lots more, all in ONE place. Save some money, some stress, and lots of time, and join the Dollar Teachers Club today!

Learn More

Do you like freebies?

A rhyming freebie just for you...

Words That Rhyme Sort

Download!

Words That Rhyme Sort

CAT and HAT? NET and BED?
Rhyming can be tricky! Grab this Words that Rhyme Sort freebie to help your students listen for rhyming pairs.

Sign up for one of these FREE email courses for more helpful tips!

Small Groups Email Course

Get Started

Small Groups Email Course

Digital Learning Email Course

Get Started

Digital Learning Email Course

Name Building Email Course

Get Started

Name Building Email Course

Differentiation Email Course

Get Started

Differentiation Email Course

Join us over on Facebook for conversation, tips, and teaching ideas for your little learners!

Join the Facebook Group

Must-Read Posts from the Blog

A black piece of construction paper with a ball of foil and a grey painted moon on the paper.
The letter L made out of salt on a paper with green liquid in a dropper being dropped on
3 cups on a table in the dark with glowing liquid inside

Copyright © 2023 A Dab of Glue Will Do •  All rights reserved  •  Privacy  •  Site Design by Emily White Designs

1.1K shares
  • 2