Sent in by:
Stephanie of Katy, TX
Make a balloon as hard-headed as you are.
- water balloons
- soft and protective materials
- Check with a grown-up before you begin.
- Protect your balloon like you do your brain. Make a skull for your balloon with soft and protective materials.
- The ZOOMers used materials like Styrofoam, cotton, cloth, tissue, felt, egg cartons, bubble wrap, newspaper and tape. You can use anything you like, just make sure that part of your balloon is left uncovered.
- Have a friend make her own skull so that you can compare your designs.
- Now test out your Balloon Brain skulls by throwing them against a wall. You'll need to do your testing outside or somewhere that can get wet in case your balloons break.
Which materials were the best at protecting the balloons? Which were the worst? What combination of materials worked best? What is it about these materials that made them better or worse than others? send your discoveries to ZOOM!
Ahmod, age 7 of Rock Hill, SC wrote:
i tried the egg cartons and it work
Martin, age 7 of Hidalgo, TX wrote:
first we tried a balloon without a skull and it popped. then we made a skull using easter grass and newspaper. we threw it at the wall 5 times and it did not pop.
Devany, age 7 of Hidalgo, TX wrote:
first we tried a balloon without a skull and it popped. We made a skull using cotton and newspaper and we threw it at the wall 3 times and it did not pop.
William, age 8 of Hidalgo, TX wrote:
first we tried a balloon without a skull and it broke on the first time. then we made a skull using easter grass and newspaper and we threw it against the wall 5 times and it did not pop.
we didn't use balloons, but we did drop eggs from a ladder. My science class did the experment. Mine didnt break!!!
Brittany, age 11 of AZ wrote:
it didnt explode. it worked very well.
Gaby, age 14 of DE wrote:
I did a balloon Brain for my school Science experiment. I worked with two people. My friend Sam and my friend Freddie.
D'Shyaa, age 10 of Mesquite, TX wrote:
i put bubble gum in there when I popped it looked like a real brain
Ashley of El Paso wrote:
it did't work becaues the ballon popt
Sarah, age 9 of Canada, AB wrote:
i just loved doing this excperiment, thanks zoom!!!
Leronce, age 7 of Chicago wrote:
it was so messy and so fun it exsplode
Monica, age 12 of Phoenix wrote:
First, I got a plastic bottle with soda, and I got a balloon. After I get my suplies I put the balloon on the plastic soda can. When you shake the soda the balloon will start filling up with gas, and will cause the balloon to fly, because the gas from the soda will go in the balloon. The gas causes the balloon to fly, because it is lighter than air.
Grace & Jacob, age 6 of Phoenix, AZ wrote:
We used a plastic bag for support, newspaper as our first layer. We inserted bubble wrap, hand towels, tape, tissue paper jake was able to drop the brain balloon 10 times without popping it. Grace was able to drop the balloon 9 times before it popped.
Logan, age 10 of Toledo, OH wrote:
I did it at my birthday party and none of the ballons broke.
Elena, age 12 of Mansfield, MA wrote:
When I did the experiment Ballon Brain my ballon popped!
Kathy of Lexington wrote:
I could not get it to work and so it messed up. The balloon keeped popping and the brain would not stick out enough. But it was really fun and hillarius.
Alyssa, age 5 of Bellvelle, NJ wrote:
Balloon brain is funny.
Jasmine, age 12 of New Bedford, MA wrote:
Wow! It actually didn't break! I used bubble wrap, styrofoam, and lots of salt!
Anasia, age 12 of New York wrote:
When I did it it was pretty fun because I gotm to go outside and throughit against the wall. When I covered it with buble wrap and the bottom of the egg carton and a party ballon it did not pop and when my friend used just buble wrap and it poped. It was my school science fair I got a 3+ it was cool.
Sophia, age 7 of Oregon wrote:
I lared it with paper, newspaper, cardbord, and tishue it didint last long becose I threw it at a tree it lasted until the 4th time!
Marley, age 10 of Blue Bell, PA wrote:
When my brother and I filled a balloon with a little bit of water and wrapped newspaper, foam and bubble wrap around it we were able to throw the balloon aganst the wall of are house 42 times! After about 10 throws the foam and bubblewrap fell off, all that was left was the newspaper.
Morgan, age 10 of Toledo, OH wrote:
I did the ZOOMsci Balloon Brain with my class and it was lots of fun but instead of throwing it into a wall the princable threw them of roof of the school. Mine did not pop!!! I used cotton balls bubble wrap and lots of other things to keep it from breaking. It was so cool getting to it with my classmates, And I had a blast! I hope I get to do it again sometime I loved It!!!
Nathanael, age 11 of Dunn, NC wrote:
All three of my balloons broke.
Lauren & Amber of New Braunsfels, TX wrote:
We tried to pop it by throwing it against a wall, but it didn't pop. It finaly popped after 13 throws.
Mohamed, age 9 of Nashville, TN wrote:
When I tried the Balloon Brain expirement something amazing happened. It wouldn't pop. First I covered the balloon in a half an inch thick layer of napkins. Then I used about 15 cotton balls on the balloon. Then I used bubblerap. After that it was all done. When I threw it against the wall it didn't pop. Then I just kept on throwing it. I was amazed to see that I can throw it three times without poping it. Do you think you can beat that.
Monica, age 12 of Austin, TX wrote:
I filled up the balloon with water and I threw it toa brick wall and it didn't pop until the 20th time. I used newspaper, cotten balls and a big tissue.
Sean, age 8 of Pittsburgh, PA wrote:
I filled up the balloon in a water bottle, then I filled up the water bottle with water. On the 6th time I threw it, the lid popped off. It took 22 times to pop the balloon!
Brianna, age 10 of Stamps, AR wrote:
I used foam, cloth, and craft or popcicle sticks. I tested it out on bricks and it hit 1 time and the second time it popped.
Emily, age 7 of Tallahassee, FL wrote:
The balloon had popped when I had hit it against the wall three times. I tried it again with different materials like cotton bolls and bubble wrap and it didnt pop until the tenth time. That design worked a lot better.
Sabrina, age 14 of Chicago, IL wrote:
When I threw mine againest the wall it did not brake. But when my friend and I switched when she threw it and then hit the floor it poped then. But other wise mine "skull" was a very "hard".