This Magic Glasses transfiguration bible craft is a guest post written by Mary Kate Warner.
The older children get, the more often they can find themselves in some “quicksand” – by picking the wrong friends or hanging out with the wrong crowd. This science experiment creating quicksand is fun and interesting and also drives home an important point about friends.
Make Your Own Quick Sand – Science Experiment
Material
• One cup of maize corn flour• Half a cup of water• One large plastic container• One spoon
Introduction
One thing we want to keep in mind as we grow up is the importance of picking the right friends. You don’t want friends who will tempt you into doing wrong. We can all get tempted because a lot of time those kids are getting a great deal of attention, and we want to be a part of it. But if we give in to that temptation, we can find we’re in situations… that is sort of like being in quicksand. Let’s make some homemade quicksand and see how it works.
Instructions
1. Mix the cornflour and water thoroughly in the container.
2. Stir slowly and drip the mixture from the spoon to show that it is liquid.
3. Stir it quickly. That will make it hard and allow you to punch the spoon into it.
4. The mixture will look hard, but after it is stirred if you drop a small object (like a marble) into it, the marble will sink.
Explanation
If you add just the right amount of water to corn flour it becomes very thick when you stir it quickly. This happens because the cornflour grains are mixed up and can’t slide over each other due to the lack of water between them. Stirring slowly allows more water between the cornflour grains, letting them slide over each other much easier. Poking it quickly has the same effect, making the substance very hard. But if you poke it slowly it doesn’t mix up the mixture in the same way, leaving it runny. That’s when it works in much the same way as real quicksand.
Conclusion
In wrong friendships, we often feel like we have the strength to withstand the temptations that these other kids put on us. Whether it’s cheating on tests or bullying, or gossiping, or lying or stealing, we try to tell ourselves, “They might do it, but we won’t.” We just want to get close to all the excitement and attention people like this can sometimes stir up. But we’re a lot like this marble. We sink. And before we know it, we’re not just doing one thing wrong but several. Let’s remember to pick our friends wisely. Let’s pick Christian friends first who will help us stay afloat rather than sink into the murky mire of wrong thoughts and behavior. Give this project a try and let us know how you and your child enjoyed the activity.
The above post was written by guest blogger, Mary Kate Warner. For questions about this activity, please reach out to her personally at Christianity Cove.
