Brainiac clips

Every year, for as long as I can remember, I've shown a clip from the British show Brainiac that makes a giant pendulum mirroring the in-class bowling ball demo. My downloaded copy is grainy and pixelated so I decided to try and find a better version. I downloaded one Brainiac episode (Season 1, episode 3) with the intention of editing it down to the 4 minutes or so that I wanted. I ended up watching the whole 40 minute episode and editing out six clips to use in my classroom. Not too shabby for some fun TV time.

Conservation of Energy and a giant pendulum:
Well explained and stands alone well.

Oil Slip & Slide:
Even really slippery surfaces have a coefficient of friction that slows down moving objects. You could have students estimate it using the values given in the clip.

LN2 filled water bottle:
Quick example of pressure, boiling and of course liguid nitrogen.

Does a duck's quack echo?

Sometimes students just won't believe you unless they see it for themselves. Or in this case hear it. 

Don't microwave a CD:
#ThingsThatShouldGoWithoutSaying

Playground G forces:
Brainiacs (the volunteers and staff that put on the science of the show) try to get the most G forces possible out of a playground merry-go-round. You could get more but they are limited by human power.

Iron in cereal:
This is an easy demo to do in the classroom but it does take some prep, the right cereal, etc. This is a super short clip that demonstrates it if you don't have the time.

Now I want to watch more of it. Besides the energy pendulum the only other clip I have seen prior to this was another all time favorite, "The Electric Fence." It is pretty much all the things you wish you could do in your classroom but couldn't:

Update: For an exhaustive video demo lesson on the Brainiacs: Electric Fence clip, see this old Blog of Phyz post:

Electric Fence Redux