Tornado in a Box!

Yesterday, our grandson, Bryce, came over for the afternoon to work with Papa on his science project. It had been previously decided that Bryce would construct a tornado machine.  I don't have a very scientific mind, so I was instantly skeptical.  Papa was out last week purchasing wood, Plexiglas, black paint, screws, electrical stuff and who knows what else.  At that point I was intrigued.

Before getting started with the project, Bryce found it necessary to inspect the fire that Papa had burning in the fire pit.  But after about 10 minutes, it was time, time to start working on the tornado machine.

Curious as I was, and wanting to capture the progress of this 'tornado machine' I ventured down to the pole barn after about 20 minutes.

The first step was to saw a round hole in the top portion of the 'tornado box', where the fan would sit.

Measure twice, cut once.

 Here, Bryce is drilling holes through 3 pieces of 1/4 inch plywood, these will be 3 sides of the box.

Next, Papa is holding the sides to the top and bottom base so Bryce can 'power tool' those screws into place.  Pretty big power drill, but Bryce handled it like a champ.

The box comes together.

Here is the full piece of Plexiglas, almost ready for Ninja Bryce to snap it off at the score line.  The Ninja part happened too quick, so I didn't get a picture of it.  

One more small piece to snap off for a perfect fit.

The blue protective plastic comes off.

Drilling larger holes in the fan housing before attaching it to the top of the box.

Attaching the fan to the top of the box.

Wiring up the switch.  I just love this picture, it's a gem.

In the house now, a bowl of warm water, a piece of dry ice, flip the switch on and . . . . . 

A little too much pull from the fan, so they had to adjust the amount of air being pulled into the box.  

OK, that's better.  Papa made a cover out of Plexiglas that could be pulled partially over the fan to lessen the amount of air being drawn through it.  

Before Bryce left, he totally understood this whole process.  How the fan sucks air through the four open corners of the box creating the tornado.  If you ask him about why dry ice smokes like that, he'll tell you ' it's carbon dioxide changing from a solid to a gas'.  What a smart little guy.  Oh yeah, did I mention that Bryce is only 7 years old.

Here is Bryce and Papa at the Mattawan 2nd Grade Science Fair

I hope you enjoyed your science lesson for today!