Air Cannon

• The air inside the container will circle, gaining speed, before pushing out.NA/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  For this experiment, you'll need an oatmeal container, a plastic bag, tape and scissors. Cut a hole about 2 inches in diameter in the center of the bottom of the container. Tape the plastic bag over the other open end, pulled slightly taut so that there are no air leaks and the seal is secure. Take a small piece of tape and attach one end to the center of the bag. Fold the tape over on itself, attaching the other end to the bag as well. This makes a small handle to push and pull the bag. Aim the canister at any lightweight object, such as a cotton ball, and push and pull the bag face using the tape handle. The displaced air will circle within the container creating a vortex effect and forcing air out of the small hole up to 50 feet away.
  
  

Air Currents

• Air will move around the container to extinguish a candle.Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  You'll need an oatmeal container and a lit candle for this experiment. To demonstrate the Coanda effect, which is used to explain how airplanes fly using lift and air currents, place the oatmeal container directly in front of the lit candle. Keeping your lips even with the flame of the candle, blow on the container on the opposite side from the candle. The Coanda effect states that air will follow the curved surface of a wall. When you blow at the container, the air splits but each half follows the curve of the canister. The halves meet on the other side and continue their path, blowing out the candle.
  
  

Drums

• Kids don't need professional instruments to learn about percussion.Jupiterimages/liquidlibrary/Getty Images
  
  For the preschool crowd, using an oatmeal container as a drum shows the effect of force on an object through sound. Have the children place the containers on various surfaces such as a tabletop or a heavy rug, and let them observe the differences in the sounds made. They will learn that the sound not only depends on the instrument but also on the environment in which that instrument is played. It's simple acoustics for the wee ones.
  
  

Light Refraction

• You can create your own spectroscope.Comstock/Comstock/Getty Images
  
  For this experiment, you'll need an oatmeal container, a CD, clear tape, duct tape, scissors and a utility knife. Using the knife, cut a slit 1/8 inch wide by 1.5 inches long on one end of the container. On the opposite end, cut a hole about an inch in diameter with the scissors. Remove the label and silver coating of the CD using strips of duct tape. Press the tape firmly to the label and pull off quickly. Repeat this until the label is gone. Cut a portion of the CD about 2 inches wide and tape it over the 1-inch hole in the container with the clear tape. Aim the slit at a light source and look through the clear lens of the CD. You should see rainbows.