Connecting with COSI: Explaining Pressure by crushing cans with temperature

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Storm Team 4’s meteorologist Liz McGiffin caught up with Joe Wood, Director of Education Interactions and Performances at COSI for an experiment using soda cans to talk about pressure.

They heated up a soda can and then carefully put it into cooler water. The rapid change in temperature changes the pressure and will crush the can.

You can watch the discussion in the video player above.

Temperature, pressure and moisture are all important things meteorologists look at when forecasting the weather. These create different weather patterns and keep the weather changing in Ohio.

At COSI, you still have time to check out the exhibit Pterosaurs: Flight in the Age of Dinosaurs, organized by the American Museum of Natural History, which is included with admission and will be at COSI through March 5. Click here to learn more about the exhibit.

"Tutankhamun: His Tomb and his Treasures" will open at COSI on March 18 and be there through Labor Day 2023. This exhibit requires a ticket separate from general admission. Tickets are on sale now, and you can reserve your ticket in advance by clicking here. You can also click here to learn more about the upcoming exhibit.

To look into exhibits that are currently open, or check when they are open, you can visit COSI.org.

Check out some other experiments and demonstrations below:

Decoding a Secret Message

Meet Nigel the Opossum

Getting ready for King Tut exhibit

Indoor Snow

Floating Dry Erase Drawings

Milk Fireworks

How to make holiday cards

How to make a lava lamp in a bottle

Inside Doc McStuffins and interacting with a blue-tongued skink

Inside “Pterosaurs: Flight in the Age of Dinosaurs” exhibit

Snakes!

Halloween Candy Experiments

Using Candy to demonstrate air pressure