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Introduction

Tired of waiting around for a thunderstorm to see lightning?  Make your own . . . in your house!  See, hear, and feel your own lightning by collecting the materials and following the instructions.

To learn how this works, read the explanation and follow the links below.
      Safety Information
Experiments are dangerous, but scientists are always safe!

→Always have an adult help you collect the materials and conduct the experiment. 
→In this experiment, you will attach a pen to an aluminum pie plate as a handle.  Once you do this, use the handle to move the pie plate and not your hands.

  
Materials
→ Aluminum pie plate
→ Ball-point pen
→ thumb tack
→ wool sock
→ styrafoam
→ a dark room
Instructions
1) 

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5)

 Push the thumb tack upwards through the center of the pie plate. 

Push the pen into the tack.  It should be firm enough to use as a handle.  Use glue to make it more secure.

Rub the styrafoam rapidly with the wool sock.

Use the pen as a handle to pick up the aluminum pie plate and set it on top of the styrafoam.  Don't touch the pie plate.

Turn off the lights.  Move your finger to the pie plate, slowly . . . zzzzzzzzZZZap!
 
Explanation
 
When you rub the styrafoam with the wool sock, tiny particles called electrons move from the wool sock to the styrafoam.

Now that the styrafoam has a negative charge, it repels the electrons in the aluminum pie plate. This means that the electrons try to get as far away as possible; in this case, that means the top side of the aluminum pie plate.

When you bring your finger close to the plate, the electrons jump between the pie plate and your finger and escape to the ground through your body. You see, hear, and feel the shock of the electrons racing through your body! 

 
 
 
Links
Simon and Alan's Lightning Project
Two students explain their pan-lightning project. 

Joseph's Lightning Report
A student report explains how lightning forms.

The Physics Classroom: Charge Interaction
Explains how positive and negative charges work in detail
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