At Home Experiment- Does Candy + Water = Art?

Virtual school can feel taxing when you can’t leave home.  The backyard does offer some relief but knowing that you aren’t supposed to go anywhere can often make you feel like you really just want to go… anywhere!!  I was trying to find something new to do when I remembered that I bought a book of science experiments for kids at Christmas because they love science.    There’s an experiment in it that asks- Can water and candy make art?  It looked easy enough so I decided to try it out. This is a great way to get rid of some Easter candy but not completely waste it!

Candy Science Experiments

First up was Skittles.  This is what they used in their example in the book as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First, we got a white plate.  Next, I got hot water (which I handled instead of the kids).   The kids put the candy on the plate arranging them as they chose. Then, I poured the hot water on the plate with enough to cover the bottom of the candy.

We first tried the skittles, which looked a lot like the image in the book.  The kids noted that the candy shell melted off the one side.   Almost instantly you could see the colors coming through and becoming more vibrant. They said the Skittle was sweet even with the bottom part of the shell melted off.

Since that was fun, we decided to see what other kinds of candy we could use to do this with as well.  Next up, was NERDS.

NERDS Candy Science Experiment

We followed the same steps with the NERDS.  The colors ran out and were bright.  The colors mixing did come out to a very green/brown color with all the different NERD colors.  One was shaped as an exploding volcano which turned out really cool.   The kids decided to taste a couple of the nerds afterward and said that because the outside had come off they were tangier than normal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jelly Beans  Candy Science Experiment

Next up, Jelly Beans!

Initially one started off as a smiley but it changed after my daughter thought about it and didn’t think there would be enough colors to mix together.    The jelly beans turned out ok, the colors were lighter than the other two experiments.   The kids tasted a jelly bean and determined they were still just as sweet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

M&M’s Science Experiment

While it’s true M&M’s melt in your mouth and not in your hand, there’s an exception when you add hot water to a plate for a candy science experiment!

Because they were having so much fun doing the science experiments, the kids asked if we could do one more.   I remembered that we had some M&M’s in the cabinet and took them down. We had some plain ones as well as some hazelnut (hence the different sizes).  These were my favorite.  The colors were so pretty!  This one was their favorite too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was a super easy activity, helped us get rid of some candy without just throwing it in the garbage,  and there was some learning involved.  The kids wrote down their hypotheses and observations of what happened each time.  We talked about the scientific method and steps in it (since my 3rd grader is currently covering it in school).  They had a sense of pride and accomplishment with their research which was fun to see.  They also learned that saw that science is an adventure.  Plus, clean up was super easy!

It was a nice break in our day and takes some of the stress out of virtual school, working from home, and feeling like you are stuck.

There are a lot of cute, easy experiments in the book and it’s totally worth the price (currently $8.99 on Amazon).

Check out the book:

 

Don’t forget to Pin this!—>

Looking for more fun during your stay at home time?