Candy Cane Science Experiment for Young Kids

My kids have so much fun with simple science.  We often use candy for simple science experiments.  The kids love these candy science experiments.  I love that they are easy and great for my young kids.  Even though simple, these science experiments ignite a passion for science in my kids.  It gives them the basic idea behind testing ideas to see what outcome they will get.  With Christmas behind us now we have a lot of uneaten candy canes in the house.  From ones we bought for decorations to others that were given to us with gifts.  Since their is NO way we can eat them all, or no way I will let the kids eat them all, what better than to create a Candy Cane Science Experiment for Young Kids.

 

 

 

 Candy Cane Science Experiment for Young Kids

 

 

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What you need:

 

candy canes

 

Plastic Beaker Set – 5 Sizes – 50, 100, 250, 500 and 1000ml or cups

 

water

 

 

 

 What to do:

 

I got out 2 plastic beakers and a few fruity flavored candy canes we had left over from Christmas.  I love the fruity scent of the candy canes but traditional are great too!  I filled both beakers with tap water.  I placed those on our Ikea plastic mats.  We usually start our science experiments with talking about what we think will happen or making a “hypothesis”. Then we move on to our observations.  Big brothers first observation was that once the candy cane was placed in the water it appeared LARGER.  The water magnified the candy.  I did not even notice this.  But I looked down and he was correct.  The candy cane as seen above did appear larger or magnified in the water.

 

 

After about 20 minutes the kids next observed that the stripes of the candy cane had disappeared. The red stripes were gone.

 

 

Next the kids checked for scent.  They sniffed the beakers to see if the water had a fruity scent.  They concluded that it did have a fruity scent.  The candy canes in the water made the water scented.

 

 

 Last observation was that after sitting in the water for a few hours the candy cane disappeared!  Or dissolved in the water.  The kids love to see if the candy will grow or dissolve when we do candy science experiments.  When we did our Gummy Bear Science the candy grew.  Now the kids always ask will it grow or be gone mama?  “Let’s watch and see” I tell them.

 

 

 More science posts:

Apple Volcanoes Science for Kids

 

Blowing up a Balloon with a Bottle- science for kids