Experiments for staying at home: Can a sheet of paper carry a full glass cup?

Exciting ideas and creative experiments in the fields of natural phenomena, mobility of the future, digitalisation and the living space of children: that’s the Genius Box. In this hands-on experiment, children in grades 1 and 2 get ideas for stable constructions directly from nature. They let themselves be inspired by differently shaped leaves, transfer their properties to their sheet of paper – and thus make it surprisingly stable.

By using only a small amount of material, a great effect is created, that most children probably would not have expected: When folded properly, the paper construction effortlessly supports the full glass. The children can test the bearing capacity of their construction with various other objects, with no limits to their imagination. Thus, the experiment conveys scientific work in a child-friendly way using both documentation and reflection.

Please click on the image to navigate directly to the corresponding idea cards and additional documents in the Genius Box.

Even more ideas in our ‘Genius Box’

The progressive spread of the coronavirus has consequences for the entire public and private life. Schools are closed and people are urged to stay at home if possible. So it is necessary to improvise and switch to digital content for teaching and school – you will find this in our Genius Box.

The Genius Box contains exciting and stimulating idea cards for grades 1-6. Use our Genius Box as supplementary home learning teaching material or to enrich existing teaching units.

Let us inspire you: Participatory experiments and other creative tasks from the subject areas of natural phenomena, future mobility, digitalisation and children’s living space are waiting to be discovered and tried out in a playful way. The Genius Box also contains clever method games – everything clearly arranged, concise and compactly prepared for you.

Please click here to find all contents of the Genius Box.
(Since Genius is a German initiative, the Genius Box unfortunately contains only a small amount of selected content in English.)

 


About Genius

Genius is Daimler’s educational initiative for MINT topics. Under the motto “More curiosity – more future”, Genius encourages children and young people to develop an enthusiasm for science and technology. For teachers of all types of school Genius provides teaching materials and training courses and thus access to the latest practical knowledge in automotive technology. 

Learn more about the Genius initiative, browse through the newest articles concerning all kinds of mobility topics or explore the world of Daimler together with kids reporters Alex and Milena.

 


Yesterday’s hands-on experiment: Who invented the helicopter?

 

Beitragsfoto: Adobe Stock // Niko_Cingaryuk