Science Fair: Ben's Tsunami Project

Ben was originally going to build a robotic bug, but after hearing about the tsunami that struck Japan and watching a special on giant waves Ben begged me to let him change his project. I was a little hesitant because it seemed like there was a lot of opportunity to have the project be upsetting... but after talking with his teacher I finally relented.

This project was all Ben. He did the research. He wrote the words. He came up with the illustrations and quiz. He designed the demonstration. I only helped with was a tweak on Ben's plan for the demonstration... Ben wanted to drop a heavy object in the tank and I was concerned that would cause a tremendous mess. I did a little reading and came up with the idea of popping balloons to trigger the wave.

Here Ben is getting ready for a demonstration.

The little corks are boats to show that the water doesn't move... the wave travels through the water.