Science week with grandma part 2

Our next batch of experiments included a couple of favorites. My kids especially enjoyed layering sugar water in test tubes and a twist on the classic egg into a bottle experiment.

1. Rainbow in a cup: Using test tubes and a pipette made it easy for our kids to keep the 4 layers of sugar water separate. We hope to make a full rainbow soon.

2. Toothpick star: My mom saw this experiment online and thought it would be a fun filler activity. We didn’t expect the toothpicks to move into star-shapes so quickly. It happened in seconds. My daughter had fun trying to make different designs with the broken toothpicks.

3. Frankenworms: We didn’t have luck getting gummy candies to wiggle using baking soda and vinegar. We had much better success using raisins.

4. Mentos in diet coke: My mom was excited to try out an experiment she saw online. We decided to keep the mess to a minimum by using 12 ounce bottles rather than 2 liter. Our kids enjoyed dropping the Mentos into the soda themselves and seeing the soda erupt; however, an adult was needed to get multiple Mentos into the bottle quickly before it erupted.

5. Egg in a bottle: We repeated the egg in a bottle experiment from before spring break. We were only able to get one egg into a bottle using a match. After looking online, we decided to try boiling water instead of fire. The water worked surprisingly well. And there was no unpleasant smoke/egg smell afterwards. My mom was even able to add a nice finale to the experiment by sucking the egg back out of the bottle afterwards. A nice ending to a new twist on a now favorite experiment.