Clogging Up the Works

The bulbs were half filled so they balanced horizontally into grooves dug into Styrofoam so they could sit tip to tip for gluing. Using E6000, the tips were sparingly touched with the glue so they connected and, when set, the seam was reinforced.  This procedure worked and the bulbs became one sturdy unit. However, even though several trials were made beforehand to make sure the Dollar Tree sand would flow freely, it did not. The bulbs needed to be jiggled to encourage the flow to restart from time to time. Highly irritating!


Looking around the classroom, a different kind of sand was found - from the zen garden. (For the reader's  convenience, a zen garden is easy to make and inexpensive if made this way!)  The one in the classroom was made by pouring Lowe's play sand into one of the bookshelves' bins so it could be pulled out and used when needed.

The left is the Dollar Tree sand;
the right is the play sand.

A side by side comparison is a clear illustration of the point presented in an earlier post - the particle size matters! This factor was discussed but that particular post listed the factors as an intellectual piece of information, not as a piece of hands on wisdom.  Now there is wisdom.

Good knowledge for the next experiment!