Barbecue skewer pirce balloon balloon without popping it

In this Barbecue Skewer Balloon experiment, you will pierce the balloon without popping it. I am sure your kids will deeply be impressed. It is a great science activity to do both at home and at school. 

Age: 5           Time: < 20 mins

 Safety 

1. Be careful with the sharp barbecue skewer.
2. Adult supervision.

 Materials List

• Balloons
• Barbecue skewer
• Lubricant (washing soap or vegetable oil)
• Inflator

 Instruction 

Step 1/4 – First inflate the balloon and tie it.

Step 2/4 – Looking at the balloon, you will find that there is a thicker area near the knot and a thicker area at the bottom. These two parts are what we will pierce a barbecue through.

Step 3/4 – Lubricate the barbecue skewer with washing soap.

Step 4/4 – Spinning push the sharp end of the barbecue skewer vertically through the thick part of the balloon near the knot and slowly push it forward to the bottom thick end. Using the same method, push the barbecue skewer through the bottom end.

 Troubleshooting 

Why is it easy to pop up the balloon when piercing a balloon? 
— It may be that the barbecue skewer is not sharp enough or you push the skewer through the thin part, not the thick part.

 Scientific Description 

The balloon is made of rubber which is composed of many long-chain molecules. When the balloon is inflated, the long chains of the rubber molecules stretch. Two ends of the balloon are less stretched than other parts. When these two parts are pierced by a barbecue skewer, the long strands of molecules stretched around the barbecue skewer and kept the air inside the balloon from rushing out. When the most stretched part is pierced, the long strands of molecules cannot seal around the hole because it has stretched long enough and the balloon will pop up.

 Extensions 

Let’s see how many balloons you can pierce on a barbecue skewer.