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.
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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+.
3DAge 6+10 min
3D block tower: stability and impact
A 3D tower of blocks and a heavy ball crashing into it. Orbit the camera and see why the tower falls. Physics for kids 6+.
3DAge 7+10 min
Slope race: rolling or sliding
A sphere, a cylinder and a cube go down the same slope. Who wins — the roller or the slider? A 3D experiment for kids 7+.
3DAge 8+10 min
Gears: the gear ratio
Gears with 12 and 24 teeth: the small one spins twice as fast, reversed. A gears experiment for kids 8+.
3DAge 8+10 min
Belt and chain: transmitting rotation
Belt and chain like on a bike: rotation keeps its direction, speed depends on wheel size. For kids 8+.
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.
3DAge 6+10 min
3D bowling: strike the pins
A heavy ball rolls down a lane and knocks over ten pins. A 3D momentum and collision experiment for kids 6+.
3DAge 9+10 min
Carousel: when the ball flies off
A disk spins up with three balls at different distances from the center. Which flies off first? A rotation and friction experiment for kids 9+.
3DAge 9+10 min
Pendulum wave: patterns from oscillations
Eight pendulums of different lengths swing together: first a travelling wave, then chaos, then order again. A 3D experiment for kids 9+.
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.
3DAge 9+10 min
A button starts the motor: a robot with rules
A ball drops onto a button — it turns green and the carousel motor starts. Space pushes the ball again.
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.
3DAge 8+10 min
A door on hinges and a door closer
Three doors get the same push. With no closer the door stays open, with a spring only it rushes back and bangs, and with a spring and a damper it closes smoothly.
3DAge 9+10 min
The washing machine: why it “walks”
Two machines spin a drum with laundry. In the left one the load is spread evenly and the machine stays, in the right one it is in a single lump and the machine creeps across the floor.
3DAge 8+10 min
A mixer: gears and beater speed
One motor spins two beaters through gears: they turn against each other twice as fast as the motor and whip the “dough” in the bowl.
3DAge 8+10 min
Braking distance: dry road, wet road and ice
Three identical cars with locked wheels slide at the same speed on dry asphalt, wet asphalt and ice. The stopping distance on ice is eight times longer.
3DAge 9+10 min
Why a bus leans in a turn
A platform tilts slowly. The tall narrow bus tips first, the low one second, the wide one last. A bus in a turn behaves the same way.
3DAge 8+10 min
Why a pyramid is stable and a tower is not
The platform sways from side to side. A tower of ten cubes falls almost at once while a pyramid of ten cubes stands.
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.