Scripture: Judges 16
Learning Objectives:
- Students will review the story of how God used Samson’s strength to end the Philistines.
- Students will learn how God uses all circumstances including people’s bad choices to fulfill his ultimate will.
- Students will learn the strength of human hair.
Guiding Question: How can students learn the strength of human hair?
Materials: Internet access, pencil or dowel, two stacks of blocks or books, plastic baggie, one strand of hair, multiple pennies
Procedure: Review the story of Samson and Delilah focusing on the rules Samson had to follow. Discuss how Samson became weaker because his hair was cut. Explain that a single strand of hair is much stronger than you would think. Show students a short video clip of a circus performer suspended by only her ponytail.
Create an apparatus where a pencil or dowel is balanced between two stacks of blocks or books. Take a plastic baggie and punch a small hole in the top of it. Take one strand of hair long enough to tie around the stick and the hole in the baggie. When ready, one end of the hair will be tied to the pencil and the other end through the baggie. Add one penny to the bag at a time until the hair breaks. Record how many pennies each hair held before breaking. Try with hair from different students. What conclusions could be drawn from the results?
Additional Questions: How can students test the strength of a piece of spaghetti?
Supplemental Activity: Have students complete the following experiment: https://frugalfun4boys.com/strong-spaghetti-stem-challenge-kids/