Middle School (ages 11-13) & General Public

Dragonfly Sight: UV Light and Electromagnetic Waves

Explore the electromagnetic spectrum with UV beads. Participants will use UV beads to learn about different types of light and do a wave dance to visualise how waves move. The demonstration will centre a discussion on wavelengths of light humans cannot see but dragonflies can. 

This demo pairs well with Dragonfly Colours: Thin-Film Interference and Dragonfly Flight: Waves and Wing Movement. This demo is part of the 2024 SOCK, The Wonders of the Dragonfly.

Dragonfly Muscles: Forces and Movement

Construct a flapping dragonfly with cardstock and elastic to learn about forces, force diagrams, and the direct flight muscles of dragonflies. Dance to compare the muscles that move your arm to the muscles that move a dragonfly’s wing.

This demo is part of the 2024 SOCK, The Wonders of the Dragonfly.

Dragonfly Flight: Waves and Wing Movement

This three-part demo allows participants to use several senses to learn about wave phases, wave superposition, and constructive and destructive interference. Participants build moving wave models, do a phase shift dance, and visualise interference with ropes. 


This demo pairs well with Dragonfly Colours: Thin-Film Interference, Dragonfly Sight: UV Light and Electromagnetic Waves and Transverse and Longitudinal Waves. This demo is part of the 2024 SOCK, The Wonders of the Dragonfly.

Dragonfly Flight: Vortices

Using wooden paddles to spin food dye in cups of glycerin allows participants to view the vortex that turning wings can create. The discussion is centred on the fluid dynamics of insect flight, particularly leading-edge vortices in dragonfly flight. 


This demo pairs well with Dragonfly Flight: Waves and Wing Movement. This demo is part of the 2024 SOCK, The Wonders of the Dragonfly.

Dragonfly Flight: Gliding

Build paper airplanes to learn about the forces behind flying and gliding and how we measure glide efficiency! Modify the wing's shape, weight, stiffness, and texture of your airplane to try and beat the glide efficiency of a dragonfly! 

This demo pairs well with Dragonfly Flight: Vortices and Dragonfly Muscles: Forces and Movement. This demo is part of the 2024 SOCK, The Wonders of the Dragonfly.

Dragonfly Colours: Thin-Film Interference

This demonstration uses a bubble and LED light to illustrate the concept of thin-film interference. It centres a discussion on thin-film interference in dragonflies and asks participants to consider where they see reflection and refraction in their lives. As an extension, participants may find a natural object with structural colouration, such as a bird feather, butterfly wing, or beetle exoskeleton, and drop some rubbing alcohol on top to see if there are colour changes. 

Explaining Eclipses & Exoplanets

Display this demonstration to talk about eclipses, exoplanets and companion stars!

Planet Deformation

Construct a planet and watch how the rotation of the planet changes the shape!

Soda Straw Rocket

Construct a paper rocket and launch it using a straw to study forces and momentum!

Cloud in a Bottle

Create a Cloud in a Bottle from a just a few simple materials! This demonstration can be used to explain the process of the water cycle and the formation of a cloud. 

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