TOUCH

Skin and touch receptors inside our body respond to temperature, pressure, and pain. To demonstrate our sense of touch we can do similar experiments as those above. Gathering products with different textures will show us how we distinguish between objects by their feel. Geologists use texture as one of their criteria with which to classify rocks. If textures are similar they can often confuse us and we have to look for other ways to recognize them. If our fingers have been burned we can actually lose our sense of touch in the burned areas. Gather a variety of products together that have different textures and another bunch that have similar textures and see how well you do in identifying them.

EXPERIMENT

The following list is one where objects might feel like other things that we're familiar with or that we've heard of. By telling a story as the objects are passed around in the dark, it can be great fun and very scary!

By making up a scary story this would be great for a sleep over, especially around Hallowe'en. It shows how our senses can actually mislead us into believing something that's false. Because of the story we're hearing and the objects we're touching, and the fact that our sight is impaired, we're tricking ourselves into believe something that isn't true. Often when hearing scary stories - especially in the movies - we can suspend our disbelief and really believe what we are seeing and hearing is really happening. This can make our experiences at the movies or around a campfire a lot more exciting and fun but we should make sure we "come back down to earth" when it's all over!