Rheoscopic Fluid

Reach into your kit & pull out the bag that says Experiment 21. Take everything out of the bag and place it around your white mat.

Place the empty container in the center of your mat and fill it all the way to the top with cold tap water.

Open the packet of colored powdered mica and pour the entire bag into your container of water.

Put the cap back on your container tightly then shake it for 5 seconds to mix it all together.

Now, watch all the cool swirls. Try shaking it again and flipping it different ways to see all the amazing swirly reactions.

Next, take off the cap, and using your pipette, suck up some liquid and squeeze it back into the container. You can make the swirls react to the waves from your pipette.

Now, place your round petri dish in the center of your mat. Open the wet wipe and wipe down the inside of the petri dish. Make sure its really wet.

Give your container a quick shake to mix the mica around, then uncap and pour some into your petri dish.

Using your pipette, suck up some liquid and squeeze it back into the petri dish. Try dragging the pipette around to make different patterns and swirls.

This time, try blowing air along the top of the water like you are creating wind. Play with it and try different ways to make swirls.

Now, pour the mica mixture down the sink, but don’t rinse the container. Leave some water drops and mica powder.

Fill your container up to the top again with cold tap water, put the cap back on tight and give it a quick shake to mix.

Grab your laser, uncap the bottom and remove the disk inside. Put the cap back on and turn it on. Your laser won’t work until you remove this disk. Now turn out the lights!

Your laser has two settings. First, turn on the white light and shine the light from the bottom.

Now, switch to the red laser and shine it through the bottle and you will be able to see the laser beam.

Grab your two mirrors and remove the protective coating by peeling it off. Place one mirror in the center of your mat and put the bottle on its side on top of the mirror.

Turn the lights back off, and using your laser shine it from the top pointing it at the mirror. You can create different reflections by experimenting with the angle of the laser.

Next, place your second mirror on the top of the bottle, facing down. Try pointing the laser towards one mirror and see if you can make the light bounce off of the other mirror.

You can make some more rheoscopic fluid to keep. First use your pipette to mix the liquid in your petri dish together, then pour it into your container of water. You can empty a little bit out if you need to make room.