Chinese Spouting Bowl

by | Apr 16, 2012 | 3 yr old, 5 yr old, science | 2 comments

Visiting the Rochester Museum and Science Center on a Saturday afternoon is much more crowded, but they have hands on science activities which make it even more fun!
Have you ever heard of a Chinese Spouting Bowl? We hadn’t until a recent Saturday visit to RMSC. The limited knowledge we have about this (simply from not educating ourselves more since our visit) is that the Chinese believe this bowl has healing powers. The Teacher’s Source says this about the Chinese Spouting Bowl: 

The Chinese Spouting Bowl first appeared in the Han Dynasty (202 BC – AD 9) Four “Han” dragons or fish can be seen in the bottom of the basin, spraying streams of water up the sides of the bowl. It is said that long ago the bowl was a kind of plaything for nobles, gifted scholars, and socialites in the Ming Dynasty. It was believed to foster happiness, prolong life, and increase strength.

Hubby was the first to try this. Simply wet your hands then rub them along the handle on either side, we were told. Hubby did and he made the bowl vibrate in such a way that sent ripples across the water and then the water actually spouted up along the side of the bowl! You could also hear a ringing from the vibration. It was really neat.
 Sweet Pea thought Hubby was having such a good time that he decided to try it too. He had a hard time coordinating both hands at the same time, but managed to make vibrations on one side.

 He tried it several times and was concentrating so hard! Cutie Pie decided not to try it, but I did. It was an experience that is just hard to describe. I can’t say I felt healed, but I definitely felt vibrations up my arms and it made me giggle!

I just had to tag this post along with the Wet experiments that I shared last week for the letter W, it just seemed to fit! The explanation found on The Teacher’s Source is quite interesting and I encourage you to check it out if this interests you. I can’t wait to get to try the Chinese Spouting Bowl again!

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Article Comments

2 Comments

  2. Emma @ScienceSparks
    Emma @ScienceSparks on April 25, 2012 at 5:32 pm

    We have tried a similar bowl, it feels really weird doesn’t it? Thanks for linking to Fun sparks xx

    Reply

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