14 Different Candy Science Experiments

 After attending the 4-H science club this weekend and seeing how excited the boys were about watching candy experiments I decided to round up all the candy science experiment ideas we've done (and a few new ones to try) in preparation for the weeks to come.

It's a great, fun, and educational way to use up some of that Halloween candy!  Here are the ideas I've come up with so far:

 

1. Dissolving Peeps experiment (would work with any marshmallow candy).  We've tried dissolving peeps in a few different liquids to see which one would dissolve the peeps the best and how long it would take.

2. Microwaving various candies to see HOW and if they'll melt.  Usually we set a few pieces of candy on a paper plate and make predictions about which one will melt first, what they'll look like when they're done and then watch through the window to see what happens.  Some candies puff up before deflating, others get all waxy looking.  It's really neat to see. 

3. Dissolving hard candies in water-- we've tried hot and cold water, water/ vinegar/ oil/ other liquids, etc.  We've timed how long each candy takes to dissolve.  We especially enjoy dissolving a packet of hard candies like sweet tarts into different liquids making sure to drop them in all at the same time and then seeing which one dissolves first. 

4. Chromatography-- see what colors are used to make up each of the candies colors.  This one is so much fun!  It really shows all the food dyes in used in candies.

5. Floating "s":  dissolving skittles until the S floats off the top.  I had no idea that the s would actually lift off the candy and float in one piece along the top of the water.  It was also pretty neat to put a few skittles together and watch all the colors dissolve and separate. 

6. Sink/ float:  seeing which candies are buoyant and figuring out why. We filled a bowl with water and made predictions about which candies would float and which would sink.  It was a simple test but I was surprised by many of the results. 

7. Citric acid test to see which candies are acidic  my kids loved this experiment that reminded them of making baking soda volcanoes!  There's nothing like fizzing bubble to get them excited. 

8. Try dissecting chocolate to see the various ingredients that it's composed of. 

9. Teaching fault lines with snickers bars what a fun way to teach plate tectonics!

10. Growing Gummy Bears  we discovered that gummy bears grow in size when left in a bowl of water!  They absorb the water and we had a fun time measuring and comparing the two bears.

11. Dancing Worms  we cut up some gummy worms into small strips and dropped them into a cup of water.  We then added a few tablespoon of baking soda and let the whole thing set aside for 15- 20 minutes.  We filled a glass with vinegar and then added our worms to it.  The baking soda that coated them makes them bubble and dance in the vinegar. 

12. Making a density rainbow.  We tried one year but our results were not as wonderful as the one in the link!  It was a lot of fun to break down all the candies and see the colors separate though.

13. Breaking open jaw breakers much like geodes to see what is inside. Some of the jaw breakers would even lead to a great lesson on the layers of the Earth!

14. Excavating for peanuts in the snickers bar; relate it to mining and the effect it has on the Earth around it.  We did this one year with chocolate chip cookies and it was so much fun!