This document provides instructions for conducting several electrostatics activities using common household items: building a pith ball apparatus using aluminum foil balls suspended from a drinking straw inside a styrofoam cup, demonstrating charge transfer using a meter stick or ruler and a swinging pencil attached by string, and constructing a simple electroscope to detect charge using foil, tape, and a plastic cup or plate. The activities are designed to explore electrostatic principles in a hands-on way.
