The Water Trick Experiment with a Toy Figure

🎂 3 + years ⏱️ 20 min 📍 Everywhere ⭐ easy

Here you set up a small diving board on a bottle. Then you place a figure right on the edge. With the empty bottle, it falls off immediately. But when the bottle is filled to the top with water, something incredible happens: the figure stays in place! The water pushes against the card from the inside and holds it firm. So strong that the figure doesn't fall. A great experiment for wonder, learning, and sharing, using simple things you have at home!

What you'll need

Two empty bottles
Tap water
A sturdy card
A toy figure (e.g., Duplo, Playmobil)

How it works

Take the first bottle. It stays empty. No water inside. Lay a card flat over the opening so that part of it sticks out like a small diving board. Place your figure on the overhanging part of the card.
What happens? Bam, the card tips and the figure falls off. Why? The card isn't stable enough. The bottle doesn't hold anything against it. The figure pushes down and plop, everything is gone.
Fill the second bottle to the top with water. Drops can almost overflow. Now lay a card flat over the opening here too. It sticks out like a diving board again. Carefully place the figure on the overhanging end.
And? It doesn't fall. It stays in place. Just like that. Water is heavy. A full bottle weighs more than an empty one. And this weight pushes against the card from the inside. So firmly that the card seems glued. It can suddenly hold the weight of the figure.
And now? Test it with different figures: Does it work with an eraser too? What happens if you tilt the card? What if the bottle is only half full?
Take a photo of your diving board and your figure. Tell someone why the water changes everything. You'll see: others will be amazed too.