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Community Corner

"Bending Water:" Science Fun for the Whole Family from GlaxoSmithKline's Science in the Summer

PHILADELPHIA — GlaxoSmithKline’s Science in the Summer (www.scienceinthesummer.com) returns to the Greater Philadelphia area for its 27th year. Sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the free educational program is administered by The Franklin Institute and conducted in partnership with local libraries. Using simple, inquiry-based, hands-on experiments and everyday objects, GSK’s Science in the Summer provides students entering 2nd through 6th grades with first-hand knowledge of complex concepts, such as Newton’s laws of motion, what causes static electricity and how genetic traits make us who we are.

Following is a fun science activity from the program curriculum that families can do at home. Please note: For optimum safety, an adult should be present during all experiments.  Also, children should wear safety glasses when conducting experiments at home and school.

Bending Water

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What is static electricity? Clothes just removed from a dryer, your socks when you walk over a carpet, and lightning are all examples of static electricity. Static electricity is a natural build up of charges in many common objects. Similar charges—for example, two negative charges—repel each other, while to opposite charges—for example, one positive and one negative charge—attract each other. Rubbing certain material on another substance can move electrons. For example, rubbing a latex balloon with wool transfers charges from the wool to the the balloon, giving the balloon a negative charge.

You will need:  Permission from an adult, cool running water, comb, a piece of wool (i.e., sweater, felt, carpet scrap, etc.) and a latex balloon.

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Activity:  Please follow the following steps:

1. Turn on the faucet until you get a thin stream of water.

2. Rub the wool several times in one direction against the comb.

3. Hold the comb close to, but not touching, the stream of water. Watch what happens! Static electricity makes the water appear to bend!

4. Do the same thing, but use a balloon. Experiment with rubbing the balloon with different fabrics and materials. What produces the best charge?

Taught by certified teachers, GSK’s Science in the Summer courses vary by county and continue through early August. This summer, students will learn about Simple Machines (Bucks County), Physical Science & Electricity (Chester County), Bioscience (Delaware County), Genetics (Montgomery County) and Chemistry (Philadelphia County). For more information about the program, please visit www.scienceinthesummer.com or your local library.

About GlaxoSmithKline – one of the world's leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies – is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. For further information, go to us.gsk.com, follow us on twitter.com/GSKUS or visit our blog (www.morethanmedicine.us.gsk.com/blog/).  

About The Franklin Institute – Founded in honor of America’s first scientist, Benjamin Franklin, The Franklin Institute is a renowned and innovative leader in the field of science and technology learning, as well as a dynamic center of activity. It is dedicated to creating a passion for science by offering new and exciting access to science and technology in ways that would dazzle and delight its namesake. For more information, please visit The Franklin Institute on the Web at www.fi.edu, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheFranklinInstitute or follow on twitter.com/TheFranklin.

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Editor’s Note: Teacher, student, and sponsor spokespersons are available for interviews. A three-minute video on the program is also available for download (Preview the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJ7_fZheUgY). Please contact Camille Dager at

215-440-9800 or Camille@hbmadv.com for contacts and/or downloads.

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