Watch: Hands On Experiments With Discovery Lab

Discovery Lab at the Gathering Place is making learning fun for kids through hands-on experiments. Each month, it features a new theme along with a daily activity to explore science.

In one experiment, there are two balloons: one filled with hydrogen, and one filled with helium. The experiment shows what happens when you combine different elements and discover how the gases react to them.

Kelsey Hildebrand is the Learning Experience Manager at Discovery Lab. She said the purpose of this experiment is to teach about the properties of gases and how each responds differently in cold and heat.

When the hydrogen and helium balloons are exposed to liquid nitrogen, both get smaller. When the balloons each come into contact with fire, the reactions are extremely different.

Hildebrand said helium isn't responsive to heat or flames, so it just pops. On the other hand, hydrogen is very reactive, so it explodes into flames.

She said those two gases are in the air at any given time. When concentrated inside something like a balloon, you can see how the gases react in different temperatures.

"So that is just a really, really cool way to talk about chemistry and the way that gases interact. You can find helium and hydrogen in the air right now, like we are breathing it in here as we exist here in Tulsa or anywhere in the world,” Hildebrand said.

Registration is open for Summer Camp at Discovery Lab for kids from pre-school to 6th grade. You can find sign up here: Summer Camps (discoverylab.org)