Butterfly Static Electricity Experiment

Make a butterfly’s wings move like magic with the help of static electricity!

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You will need:

• Card board
  
• Tissue Paper
  
• Regular Paper or Card Stock paper
  
• A Pencil
  
• Scissors
  
• Googly Eyes
  
• A Balloon
  
• A Glue Stick

What to do:

1. Cut the cardboard into a square, about 20 x 20 cm works well.
   
2. Use the pencil to draw your butterfly’s wings on the tissue paper and cut them out. Just make sure they are not bigger than the piece of cardboard. Make sure you don’t glue them on to the cardboard!
   
3.  Cut your butterfly’s body out of the regular or card stock paper and place it over top of the wings on the piece of cardboard. Glue the body of your butterfly over your wings and on top of the piece of cardboard.
   
4. Make sure the wings of your butterfly can still flap freely, then glue your googly eyes (or do your best drawing of eyes!) on to your butterfly.
   
5. Finally draw your butterfly’s antenna
   
6. Blow up your balloon and rub it in your hair to make it charged with static electricity!
   
7. Now hold the balloon close to you butterfly and watch the wings move!
   
8. Why do you think the butterfly’s wings moved?

What does this experiment show us?

• When we rubbed the balloon on our hair electrons moved from our hair to the balloon, which gives the balloon a static charge!
  
• When the negative charge of the balloon gets close to the positive charge of the tissue paper they are so attracted to each other that the tissue paper moves toward the balloon.
  
• This is the same thing that happens when we get accidental shocks from people who rub their feet on a carpet then touch us.
  

For more information and pictures, visit https://iheartcraftythings.com/static-electricity-butterfly-experiment.html