Drop a Warhead in baking soda water, and bubbles erupt. Leave a Skittle in water, and the S floats to the surface. Melt a Starburst, and shiny oil spots form. You're doing candy experiments--science experiments with candy.

Melt Halloween candy. Dissolve Valentine hearts. Float Easter Peeps. Or let your kids create their own candy science experiments.

Candy experiments. All candy. All science. All fun.

As seen in Family Fun, Parents, Mothering Magazine, Highlights, the Chicago Tribune, ParentMap, Miami Family, and The Red Tricycle

Candy Experiments in School Library Journal

Candy Experiments got a great mention in School Library Journal!

School Library Journal Gr 3–6—This book of tricks with treats coats scientific principles and properties like molecular structure and attraction, and volume, mass, and density with layers of sugar. Grouped by physical properties that include "Color," "Secret Ingredients," and "Sticky" or processes like "Blow It Up," "Squash It," and "Dissolve This," the activities begin with an introductory question and tend to flow incrementally....From the candy-colored cover to the index separated by lettered M&M's, eye-appeal abounds...

You can read the full review at www.Barnesandnoble.com

Expanding Candy Hearts

Remember the Hearts Bobbing in Soda experiment? Here's what happens when you open the bottle.



When conversation hearts dissolve, some of the color sticks together in a bubbly mass that still looks like a heart. When the bottle is opened, the bubbles expand, making the hearts bigger. Then they get pushed out of the bottle by the escaping carbon dioxide.

Candy for fun and games

I really enjoyed visiting Portland last week for a signing at A Children's Place bookstore. The kids who came were really interested, and we all had a great time. Plus, I loved this stop sign in the parking lot, which wears a crocheted green cover to make it into a flower:


Not only did we have a great signing, we got to touch base with Hattie's Sweet Shop two doors down, where we tasted some excellent ice cream, and found strange new candy products to admire. Like these Jelly Belly games. I guess Jelly Belly also wants people to enjoy their products in new ways--they must not know about candy experiments!





Playing cards and Jelly Belly beans included!

Candy Experiments giveaway at CandyFavorites.com

Candyfavorites.com just launched a Candy Experiments giveaway, with signed copies as prizes. There are lots of ways to enter, but my favorite is to send in your own idea for a candy experiment. (I can't wait to read them!) Here's the entry information.

Also, CandyFavorites.com recently donated some Pop Rocks to the candy experiments cause, and we had a ton of fun here experimenting with them. Watch next week when we reveal our discoveries on candyfavorites.com!

Make Your Own Pop Rocks

I haven't tried it yet, but here's a recipe for homemade Pop Rocks.* Instead of pumping large amounts of carbon dioxide into the heated candy mixture (the way store-bought Pop Rocks are made), the recipe uses an acid/base reaction to make the bubbles that get trapped in the candy. Sounds fun!


"How to Make Pop Rocks at Home" with recipe development by Emily Jacobs of Sage Recipes.

Great experiment dissolving M&M's in oil or water

Just found a great little experiment at the ACS site www.Middleschoolchemistry.com in which you drop M&M's in water and in oil to see which dissolve better. The lesson teaches students about polar and nonpolar substances.