Hooked on Science: Rubber band watermelon

It's not exactly Fruit Ninja, but with a few hundred rubber bands, and several hours of waiting, some serious damage can be done to a watermelon.

Materials

* Watermelon

* 400 rubber bands

Instructions

STEP 1: Have an adult stretch 400 rubber bands around the center of the watermelon.

STEP 2: After the 400th rubber band has been placed around the watermelon, observe from a safe distance .

Explanation

After several hours, the rubber bands will cut the watermelon in half. The potential energy in the rubber bands will transfer through the watermelon, causing pieces of the watermelon to shoot through the air.

Jason Lindsey is a science outreach educator with Hooked on Science. Check out his website www.hookedonscience.org for webcasts and experiments.