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    Home » Early Years Science » Garden Zip Line

    Garden Zip Line

    January 30, 2015 By Emma Vanstone 3 Comments

    I think our garden zip line using teddies is one of my favourite activities we’ve ever done, just because it’s so adaptable to children of all ages and abilities. My 4 year old uses it as a big imaginative game, talking to her teddies, telling them not to be scared and lining them up so everyone gets a go. My 6 year old makes the most amazing harnesses for us to test, and my 7 year old likes to time the descent and find the fastest combination of zip line, harness and incline of the wire. I cannot tell you how much it made me smile to watch the three of them busily working away on their different approaches to the activity.

    The zip line is brilliant outside on a fine day and also a great indoor boredom buster. You could even set up several zip lines in a row and race!

    Garden Zip Line

    DSC_0013

    What you need to make a teddy zip line

    Teddies or small play figures

    String, wire or wool

    Pipe cleaners and straws

    Timer

    How to make a teddy zip line

    This is a great activity for learning about correct experimental methods.

    Start by listing the potential variables? Have we forgotton any?

    Experiment Variables

    Type of zip wire

    Incline of zip wire

    Weight of teddy

    Type of harness

    zip line experiment

    To test one variable all other variables must remain constant. For example to test whether the weight of the teddy makes a difference, the type of wire, incline and harness must stay exactly the same. It’s good practice to repeat each test 3 times and calculate the average time taken to help reduce errors.

    Test each variable by recording the time taken for a bear to travel from top to bottom.

    Try to work out the best combination of each variable to get the teddy to the bottom of the zip wire fastest?

    Things to think about – garden zip line

    Friction

    We found the descent was much slower with our rough string than smooth wire. This is because the string is rough, meaning there is more friction to slow the bear down. In the same way, our harness with just the pipe cleaner made for a slower descent than the pipe cleaner and straw. The straw is much smoother and so reduces the friction, speeding the bear up.

    Teddy zip line experiment - fun science experiment for kids

    Please be very careful with this activity, it’s for teddies and small soft toys only!! Supervise children at all times.

    More Friction Experiments

    Simple slipping and sliding activity.

    Try one of our fun forces and motion experiments.

    A rocket zip line is another fun friction experiment idea and can be found with 69 more space themed science experiments in This Is Rocket Science.

    Make a fun garden zip line with teddies, small figures or even with a bottle rocket! Make harnesses and test different materials for the zip line to investigate the effect of friction on the speed of descent #friction #frictionexperiments #scienceforkids #coolscience #toddleractivities

    Last Updated on June 29, 2020 by Emma Vanstone

    « Colourful ice and some salt
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    Safety Notice

    Science Sparks ( Wild Sparks Enterprises Ltd ) are not liable for the actions of activity of any person who uses the information in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources. Science Sparks assume no liability with regard to injuries or damage to property that may occur as a result of using the information and carrying out the practical activities contained in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources.

    These activities are designed to be carried out by children working with a parent, guardian or other appropriate adult. The adult involved is fully responsible for ensuring that the activities are carried out safely.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. maryanne @ mama smiles

      January 31, 2015 at 1:21 am

      This is brilliant – the kids will love it! Pinning for our next rainy day 🙂

      Reply
    2. Sarah

      February 01, 2015 at 8:38 pm

      What a great way to explore some engineering ideas too! Excellent!

      Reply

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