In my opinion lightning is one of the hardest things to explain in a classroom because it’s so hard to re-create. While this will work better in small group settings, this is about the best way I’ve found to show kids the building blocks of lightning.

What You Need: click here to watch my video demonstration

-balloon

-fluorescent lightbulb

What to Do:

In theory you could rub the balloon on your hair for a minute or two and get the same result. I tried that and it didn’t work nearly as well as with a wool coat, but you are welcome to try both ways.

-Blow up the balloon and rub it on a wool coat for about a minute.

-Turn off the lights and hold the balloon near the metal end of the lightbulb.

What Happened:

When you rub the balloon on the wool coat, you are building up electric charges on the balloon. When you hold the charged balloon near the lightbulb, those charges jump to the bulb and create a spark of electricity (the small light you see in the bulb). Lightning forms in a similar way.

Charges build up in a cloud like they did on your balloon. Those charges come from all the small pieces of ice rubbing together in the cloud like how you rubbed your balloon on the wool coat. When the cloud comes close enough to an object here on the surface of the Earth, it discharges. The cloud is going to make a connection with the tallest object it can find – usually a tall tower or tree. Lightning happens when the charges “jump” down to Earth like they did to make your lightbulb light up.

Light Up a Light Bulb