9 (Reasonably) Kid-Friendly Experiments From YouTube’s Crazy Russian Hacker

Crazy Russian Hacker’s YouTube channel is the most ridiculous thing to come out of Russia since Putin’s shirtless horse ride, but it’s much more interesting, and certainly more kid friendly. And, while the internet is literally a bottomless well of DIY experiments you can do with your kids, why would you have a middle school science teacher explain something to them when you could have a guy who spells “scientifically” “sciantificly” do it instead?

Rubberband Watermelon Bomb [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1VoK0Ga36w expand=1] When you combine the time sucking power of this one (seriously — you could leave your kid long enough to catch a screening of Star Wars and they’d still be patiently pulling those rubber bands when you got back) with the quality of the payoff, you might not do anything else for the next 940 Saturdays.

Paper Airplane Launcher

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLAcfyhKcdY expand=1] If you just told your kid they can’t have the remote control paper airplane with the on-board drone, this may be the only way to get them to stop whining.

Sticky Notes Slinky [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Mf7nCYm8og&list=PLat_oTO7cmow_fgSXUjrjjELnlulDtZzI expand=1] Maybe you don’t have a Slinky; maybe you have a Slinky but no stairs to slink it down. You don’t need either for this killer Slinky-like optical illusion — just a bunch of Post-It note pads and a willingness to forget all the groceries until you replenish your stock.

Dry Ice Smoke Bubbles

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8MuJkGIY-8 expand=1] In addition to stepping up your bubbles game one million percent, this experiment gives you an excuse to buy dry ice the 364 days of the year that aren’t Halloween.

Green Fire Tornado [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6IbKE8hmiQ expand=1] Finally, the Crazy Russian Hacker lives up to his name. This one is less sketchy than it sounds, but still involves fire and tornadoes (and also the color green), so in the eyes of your kid you’re pretty much Thor.

Glow In The Dark Duct Tape

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIHPzX3zLNo expand=1] At this point, it’s reasonable to wonder if duct tape wasn’t invented by man, but was actually left here by the aliens who built the pyramids.

Double Balloon Trick

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYCRrFk0_Xc expand=1] Another ingeniously easy experiment that nevertheless requires you to inflate 2 balloons, so take it slowly. One of the hallmarks of good parenting is that they never see you red faced and about to pass out.

Balancing Paper Cup And Pencil Experiment

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIU6v3It9vs expand=1] If you’re thinking, “That’s kind of a lame experiment,” you’re not wrong — but you’re not giving it quite enough credit, either. Because, for something like $3.79, this is guaranteed to captivate a kid under 5 for at least 20 minutes.

Ping Pong Tricks

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy0SwPSc8Qw expand=1] The first one is admittedly unimpressive, but go ahead and fast forward because the hair dryer and beer bottle experiments will blow your kid’s mind and … what’s that? Oh … no, no these aren’t those kind of ping pong ball tricks.