Aerogel @Teachersource

Uploaded May 2018 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

Once the lightest solid on Earth, Aerogel, also known as "Frozen Smoke", is a truly space-age material. Watch it sit atop a dandelion without crushing it. Silica aerogel contains particles of 2-5 nm in diameter. It is 99% air, but exhibits extraordinary insulation and structural properties, and therefore holds 15 entries in the Guinness Book of Records. You can light a gas torch on one side and it won't get hot enough to light a match sitting on the other side!
Available at teachersource.com/product/aerogel/density

Phenomenon Based Education with databot™ 2.0

$Water Gel Spheres Place these hard crystals in water and they expand about 300 times, producing gel like spheres with the same index every refraction as water making them virtually invisible. Students love to feel the slippery, spiracle gel! Ask students to determine the change in volume, great for starting seeds and growing plants so that roots can be seen. Can be tinted using food coloring. Can also be used as ghost eyeballs for some Halloween fun. This polymer is similar to our super-absorbent, polyacrylamide polymer and can be dried and reused. Available at https://www.teachersource.com/product/growing-spheres/chemistry-hydro$