2DAge 5+10 min
Bouncing balls: what is elasticity
Three balls fall from the same height but bounce differently. A simple physics experiment for kids 5+: elasticity, energy and rebound.
Projects gallery
Physics experiments
Interactive experiments for kids, students and teachers. Run each one right on the page, then open a copy in the Tymora editor and change mass, friction, elasticity or gravity. Every experiment comes with discussion questions and a version to try at home.
Filters · 2
Duration
Topic
Motion & forces
Collisions & energy
Balance
Oscillations & waves
Machines
Matter, current & light
Logic & chance
2DAge 6+10 min
Heavy and light: do they fall the same?
Galileo’s classic experiment, made interactive: a heavy and a light ball fall from the same height. Which lands first? Physics for kids 6+.
2DAge 8+10 min
Newton’s cradle: conservation of momentum
One ball strikes a row and exactly one ball swings out from the other end. An interactive Newton’s cradle — a lesson on momentum and energy.
2DAge 5+10 min
Chain reaction: falling dominoes
A ball pushes the first domino and a wave of falling runs through the whole row. An energy and chain reaction experiment for kids 5+.
2DAge 9+10 min
Galton board: a bell curve from chance
Balls fall through rows of pegs and pile up in a bell shape. Hands-on probability and the normal distribution for kids 9+.
2DAge 8+10 min
Billiards: collisions and momentum
A cue ball breaks a rack on a top-down table. Momentum passes from ball to ball — a collision experiment for kids 8+.
2DAge 7+10 min
Wrecking ball: energy of motion
A heavy ball on a rod swings down and smashes a brick wall. An energy and momentum experiment for kids 7+.
2DAge 8+10 min
Leaning stack: where is the center of mass
Two stacks of books: one with a careful overhang and one with too much. One stands, the other falls — the center of mass decides.
2DAge 6+10 min
Sink or float: buoyancy
Five bodies of different density drop into water: cork, wood, ice, brick and an iron ball. Which sink and which float?
2DAge 10+10 min
A lens gathers light into a focus
A parallel beam of rays passes through a converging lens and meets at one point — the focus. Then try a diverging lens.
2DAge 10+10 min
Refraction of light: glass and a prism
A ray enters a glass block and a prism, changes direction and leaves. The angle of refraction obeys Snell’s law.
2DAge 8+10 min
A sensor opens the door: “if — then” logic
A ball rolls down a ramp and bumps a sensor, which turns green and removes the support under a second ball. Built from blocks.
2DAge 6+10 min
The tablecloth trick: inertia
A tablecloth is pulled fast and slowly. The first time the cups stay on the table, the second time they ride off and fall.
2DAge 8+10 min
A ladder against a wall: which angle is safe
Two ladders lean on a wall: the steep one stands, the shallow one slides. Find out why ladders are set at about 15°.
2DAge 6+10 min
What sinks in the pot: apple, potato, egg
We drop an apple, ice, a potato, a fresh and an old egg into water. Who floats and who sinks? Density decides.
2DAge 8+10 min
A tilted tray: when does the salt shaker slide
Identical salt shakers stand on trays tilted 10°, 20° and 35°. Find the angle where static friction no longer holds.
2DAge 7+10 min
Skis and wax: who glides farthest
Three skiers ride down the same hill: with good wax, poor wax and none. Compare who glides farthest on the flat.
2DAge 8+10 min
Skate halfpipe: energy back and forth
A wheel rolls into a half-round ramp and climbs the other side almost to the same height. A chart shows the energy.
2DAge 8+10 min
Crash test: why wear a seat belt
Two carts with dummies hit a barrier. The belted one stays put, the unbelted one flies forward.
2DAge 7+10 min
A train starts: why the wagons jerk one by one
A locomotive pulls five wagons with slack couplings. They start not together but one after another — a wave of jerks.
2DAge 7+10 min
An avalanche and a protective forest
Snowballs roll down a mountain. Rows of trees on the slope slow the avalanche so less snow reaches the house.
2DAge 8+10 min
An iceberg: how much is underwater
Ice, wood and foam in sea water. Only the tip of an iceberg shows above water — about one ninth.
2DAge 9+10 min
Batteries in series: brighter or burnt
One, two and three 4.5 V batteries power identical 6 V bulbs. One glows dim, two bright, three burns the bulb.
2DAge 8+10 min
Home wiring: each lamp has its own switch
Three lamps are wired in parallel, each with its own switch. Click them — the other lamps keep glowing as before.
2DAge 7+10 min
A shot at goal: score, crossbar or over
Three balls fly at the goal with different speeds: one into the net, one off the crossbar, one over. The net turns green on a goal.
2DAge 8+10 min
A tower crane and its counterweight
Two cranes hold the same load. One has a counterweight and its jib stays level; the other’s jib tips over.
2DAge 6+10 min
Sorting by size: a sieve
Small and large balls pour onto a tilted grate. The small ones drop into the left bin, the big ones roll on to the right.
2DAge 6+10 min
Wheel versus sled: why a cart is easier
A sled and a cart get the same push. The sled quickly stops while the wheeled cart rolls much farther.
2DAge 8+10 min
Spring scale: a spring measures weight
Weights of 0.5, 1 and 2 kg and one unknown hang on identical springs. A spring stretches in proportion to the load, so the ruler reveals the mass.
2DAge 10+10 min
A weight on a spring: heavier means slower
Three weights of 0.25, 1 and 4 kg bob on identical springs. The light one is quick, the heavy one slow, and the chart shows the period.
2DAge 6+10 min
Trampoline: springs give the energy back
The same ball falls onto the floor, a soft trampoline and a stiff one. On the floor it stops dead; on the trampolines it bounces up again.
2DAge 6+10 min
A jump on the Moon: six times higher
A boy jumps at the same speed as on Earth, but gravity here is lunar (1.62 m/s²). Marks show the jump height on Earth and on the Moon.
2DAge 7+10 min
A lever: a child lifts a heavy stone
A 20 kg load on the long arm lifts a 50 kg stone when the fulcrum is close to the stone. With the fulcrum in the middle the stone stays put.
2DAge 9+10 min
The arm as a lever: the biceps beats the load
A forearm holds 1 kg and 3 kg in the hand. The muscle attaches close to the elbow, so it pulls several times harder than the load weighs.
2DAge 6+10 min
Swings: push in rhythm
Three identical swings: no pushes, pushes along the motion and pushes against it. Rules push the seat as it passes the lowest point.
2DAge 10+10 min
The eye and glasses: fixing short-sightedness
Three eye models: normal, short-sighted and short-sighted with glasses. Rays meet on the retina only in the normal eye and in the eye with a diverging lens.
2DAge 9+10 min
The shock absorber: keeping the body from bouncing
Two identical cars drive over bumps: the top one has only a spring, the bottom one a spring and a shock absorber. The top body bounces for a long time, the bottom one settles quickly.
2DAge 8+10 min
Spring cannon: from spring energy to range
Three identical cannons with springs of different stiffness fire at 45°. The stiffer the spring, the farther the ball goes: twice as stiff, roughly twice as far.
2DAge 5+10 min
A business card that falls apart: design meets physics
A neat business card built from 32 tiles, each with its own physics body. Press “Run” and the layout crumbles and drops to the floor.
2DAge 5+10 min
The Tymora logo in 20 frames: twenty kinds of physics
One project, 20 frames, each with the Tymora logo and its own physics: Moon, zero gravity, ice, pendulum, spring, water, dominoes and more.