SLIPPERY SHOES Slippery

SLIPPERY SHOES Slippery Slidey Shoes Organiser’s Card About the activity This activity is designed to get children thinking about friction. Oops! Gem and Cosmic have slipped on the floor. Help them figure out how to stop it happening again. Through this activity you will support your group to: • Think about SLIPPERY why the shoes SHOES slipped on the floor • Test different shoes and observe which ones are the most and the least slippery • Record their results and share them with the group Kit list • A collection of shoes to sort and test – children could bring in some of their own shoes • Wide ramp e.g. a shelf, a wipe board, a tray • Different materials to cover the ramp (optional) • Podium sheets – www.britishscienceassociation.org/creststar What to do 1. Follow the structure on the ACTIVITY CARD. Make sure that you give children time to talk about their ideas. 2. Read the story. Then get the children to talk to a buddy about the questions and the opinions of Cosmic, Gem and the Caretaker. 3. Each group will need shoes to sort and to test. 4. Talk through how they might test the shoes but encourage them to use their own ideas too. 5. When they have finished put the shoes on the winners’ podium and talk about why these were the best shoes. They could also take photographs wearing slippery and non-slippery shoes or draw a picture of Cosmic and Gem wearing the non-slip shoes. 6. There are follow up activities for children who have finished or want to do more finding out at home and earn a bonus sticker.

Things to think about The children may want to explore sliding the shoes on the ramp first before they test each shoe systematically. It is good if children decide to use their ramp in different ways from the one suggested on the ACTIVITY CARD. They might try lifting the ramp to see when the shoes slide. They might try two shoes at a time. They might try changing the surface of the ramp to see why Cosmic and Gem slipped on the hall floor but not on the carpet in the corridor. Take it further SLIPPERY SHOES Friction between surfaces stops things slipping. If shoes and surfaces are very smooth, there is unlikely to be much friction. If either surface is roughened a little, the shoes will generally grip better. High-heeled shoes are slippery as they do not have very much surface in touch with the ground. Some wellingtons can also slide easily because they are designed to be used in muddy conditions, not on smooth surfaces. Changing the floor surface will make an obvious difference to sliding. Polish reduces friction. Carpet is much rougher, which increases friction. Keywords • Friction • Slip • Surfaces Watch out! Be cautious about children trying out the activity for real on a slippery floor. British Science Association Registered Charity No. 212479 and SC039236