And the side-effect of the experiments that I liked the most was that they used candy. Candy for science instead of for eating.
How perfect is this book so kids will use up at least some of their Halloween candy doing experiments?
One of the easiest and most fun experiments we did was fill a bowl with water and then see what candy floated, and which sunk. You'd be surprised by the results, and I was surprised by how much candy this particular experiment was able to use up as the kids kept asking to try "just one more!" Of course, kids. Of course.
If you want to try your own candy experiments, here's a fun one from the book that uses Candy Canes, Crazy Canes:
Time: 10 to 30 minutes
Skill Level: Get a grown-up
Snap! That’s what happens to your candy cane if you try to bend it. Is there a way to bend candy canes without breaking them?
What you need:
Oven
Aluminum foil
Baking sheet
Candy cane or straight candy stick
What to do:
1. Preheat the oven to
250°F.
2. Tear off a square of aluminum foil. Fold it
in half, then fold again and again to make a rectangular strip about 3 inches
wide (wider than the candy cane). Bend this strip into a fun shape, like a
zigzag, an S-curve, or a bowl.
3. Place the foil shape on
the baking sheet and put the candy cane on the foil shape. Heat in the oven for
5 to 20 minutes. (The melting time will depend on the size of the candy cane.)
Check frequently until the candy cane has softened and curved into the shape of
the mold.
What's happening:
When you’re melting an ice
cube, you can see it turn to water. An ice cube is a solid, made from molecules
locked together as crystals. When it melts, the molecules break apart. The
solid becomes a liquid.
The molecules in a candy cane don’t make crystals. Instead, the
candy cane contains lots of kinds of molecules jumbled together, like the fruit
Life Saver in the Life Savers Melting Race experiment on page 96. When it gets
warm, it doesn’t turn liquid right away. Instead, it gets softer and softer as
the molecules shift around. That’s why you can turn a warm candy cane into a
crazy cane.
In fact, your candy cane has already been heated and bent. A
candy cane is made from a straight candy stick that’s bent into a cane shape
while it’s still warm.
To purchase the book visit CandyExperiments.com.
I was not compensated for this post. I did receive a copy of Candy Experiments - and I highly recommend it.
1 comment:
Oh how cool, I wonder if I can get creative and try to make it shape into the kids initials (this is the part where my crafts go all wrong and become a craft fail).
Post a Comment