"Dancing raisins" is my favorite science experiment yet! And since every time Kay has raisins for a snack now she asks to make them 'dance', I'd say it was a hit with her as well.
The first day we tried it, we used two paper cups, 1 with just water and another with ginger ale (any clear bubbly liquid would work; I see soda water used often online). Obviously, the one with just water did nothing. But the ginger ale raisins bounced up and down. Very cool. But not so easy to see in a paper cup.
The first day we tried it, we used two paper cups, 1 with just water and another with ginger ale (any clear bubbly liquid would work; I see soda water used often online). Obviously, the one with just water did nothing. But the ginger ale raisins bounced up and down. Very cool. But not so easy to see in a paper cup.
The next day, I found a tall vase that I knew would be perfect for this experiment. So we did it again, adding more ginger ale. Then Kay dropped in a raisin. This time, the raisin "danced" all the way to the top and then back down again. It was very cool!
So Kay added a few more raisins, watched those move, and then added even more. She was fascinated with this and so was I! Then she got a spoon to try to 'catch' the raisins when they came to the top. But the shape of the vase, combined with the fact that as soon as she put her spoon in the raisin would jump back to the bottom, meant she didn't catch very many.
Now I just have to figure out a way to give her raisins without her asking to do this experiment every time!
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Little Bins for Little Hands is celebrating Christmas with some science: Fizzing Christmas Science Experiment