Materials: Dish soap, a large dish, water, pepper, and a cotton swab.
1. Fill the dish with water, just enough to cover the whole bottom of the dish.
2. Shake pepper all over the surface of the water, but don’t mix it in.
3. Soak a cotton swab in dish soap.
4. Dip your cotton swab into the middle of the dish. Watch what happens.
Why this Happens
Water has what is called surface tension. This is like a skin on the top of the water. Surface tension is caused by all the water molecules on the top of the water linking together. But the soap breaks the surface tension of the water. Why does breaking the surface tension causes the pepper to go to the edges?
The surface tension is like a balloon covering the water. When you pop the balloon, rubber pulls away from the point where you popped it. Because surface tension is caused by the water molecules linking together, when that link is broken at one point, the rest of the molecules will still pull back like the balloon skin. The pepper is dragged away as the surface tension breaks.
Character Teachings
Forgiveness is letting go of bitterness and revenge. Just like the soap clears away the pepper, when we forgive someone we clear away the wrong they did to us. When someone does something wrong to us it is like the water that has been dirtied by the pepper. That can damage relationships and make it hard to be friends. The way any relationship is restored is by forgiveness. Forgiveness means we are clearing the record of the wrongs others have done. Just like the soap clears away the pepper, when we forgive we clear away the wrongs they’ve done. Who have you not forgiven? How can you show someone you’ve forgiven them?