Hair dyers aren't just for styling your hair any more. The force of their air is enough to make ping-pong balls magically fly and bounce around like popcorn. Add a toilet paper tube to the mix and watch what happens!
Age
Toddler, Preschool, School-age, Tweens, TeensNumber of Players
As many as you can handle!Prep Time
5 minutes or lessTime Length
5 - 15 minutesDifficulty
Easy peasy (fun and simple)Indoor/Outdoor
EitherSpace Needed
Small (a clearable open space the size of a 1-car garage), Medium (a clearable open space the size of a 2-car garage)Noise Level
Semi-rambunctiousMess Factor
Clean and tidySupplies
Setup
1. Turn your blow dryer on and set it to “cool."
2. Place a ping-pong ball above the airflow of the blow dryer.
3. Let go of the ball while keeping the blow dryer steady and… you have a magically levitating ping-pong ball.
4. Move the blow dryer from side to side and see what happens!
Variations
If you would like to experiment further, try a T.P. tube.
1. First, put the T.P. tube above the blow dryer.
2. Then add the ping-pong ball below it as well.
3. Next thing you know, the ping-pong ball will be sucked up into the TP tube. You can also use a funnel!
Also, if you have a electronic blower, try using that instead of the blow dryer. Check out what all that extra power can keep in the air!
Educational
This activity demonstrates how the flow of air acts against gravity. Once the T.P. tube is added, it further shows how the air moves so quickly down a narrow space (wind tunnel) that it caused the ping-pong ball to be sucked up.