Ask HN: Recommend science experiments and videos for unfortunate school students

1. You tie a string from the wall to a motor. Ideally you should be able to control the frequency of the motor, but if you don't have this equipment, it's okay. The string will vibrate rapidly. You then close the lights and put a stroboscope on the string. You tune it, by trial and error, to the same frequency of the motor. Then you see the string frozen in a wave form. You can change the freq slightly to make it move slowly. You can have the kids touch the string at the proper places to make standing waves.

2. This one is really simple to do. You take a small object (like a soda can) and tie it with a string to the ceiling. (Let's say the string's length is about half the height of the ceiling.) You pull back the can and release it, making it swing from left to right (Without a circular swing.) Then you hand out "half-sunglasses" to the kids. It could just be a piece of dark film, or a partly opaque glass. As long as it's a bit dark and you can see through it. You put the film on one eye, you see the can going in a circle. You put it on the other eye, you see it going in a circle the opposite direction.

This happens because the eye with the dark film gets a lower refresh rate. The image on that eye is of the can in a slightly retarded position than the other eye. This messes with the 3D analysis that the brain does, and makes it look like the can is getting closer/farther from you.

1) Importance and applications of computers 2) How it might be affecting the life of these kids without their own knowledge 3) How computers work in a very simplified way 4) Using computers for fun

A charity organization has donated about 6 computers which they have kept in a room. I guess the students will have access to these.

In the end, though, it is your judgement. You have to teach them

a) what you're comfortable with

b) what they will respond to

c) what seems to provide value, short and long term.

I think basic science is better than "about computers", but you'll be the man on the spot, and it will be your call. I think you're doing a fantastic thing.

There's also a cool outdoor experiment you can do to measure the speed of sound by clapping pieces of wood/books together in a constant, even rhythm such that you hear an echo between each clap (so you hear clap - echo - clap - echo). By measuring the distance to the wall, and timing the sequence for a set number of claps/echoes, you can get a good estimate of the speed of sound. You can also make a game to see which "team" can get the best measurement. It's a very cheap demo, but it utilizes a lot of concepts of physics and physics experiments.