With two weeks to go before Christmas, you've got just enough time to make your own sugar crystal ornaments. Here's how!
Make a few ornament shapes out of fuzzy pipe cleaners.
Make sugar crystal solution by adding 4 cups sugar to 2 cups water, and boiling until the solution is clear.
Pour the solution into a quart jar or small glass jars.
Lay a pencil over the jar(s). Use string or twist ties to hang the ornaments from the pencil. The ornaments should not be touching each other, or the sides of the jar.
Wait two weeks, or until crystals form.
Remove the ornaments, dip in water to rinse, hang dry, and admire!
For more instructions and explanations, see my article, "Grow Sugar-crystal Ornaments," in the December 2016 issue of Highlights.
Candy experiments with cousins led to a new discovery: although candy canes don't float, some emit bubbles that do.
See the red candy cane shapes with bubble outlines? The candy canes are still at the bottom of the dish, but the bubbles have floated to the surface, still in candy cane outline.
The Everett librarian and I thought that the rainstorm outside would keep the kids home. I thought we'd be lucky if we had 5. Instead, our 24-max Hands On Candy Presentation ended up with 30 kids! With well-behaved kids, and helpful parents, we were still able to get through all the activities.
Our program today had 15 adults (thank goodness!) and 30 kids (yay! …The kids had fun and we were very happy to have so many parents helping out with the experiments…Loralee was very organized and efficient and was able to keep chaos from breaking out even with a very crowded room. Some of the science we learned was about acids, colors, endothermic reactions, air pressure, and how much sugar is hidden in everyday foods besides candy. Some of the kids were very impressed and grossed out which is always fun… Thank you for another fun program.
Candy Experiment: Apple Jack marshmallows, usually as hard and crunchy as Styrofoam, turn soft and mushy if left in the cupboard for a year. They're hygroscopic, absorbing water from the atmosphere!
Also discovered as a result of scientific testing: 3-year-olds eat them. Even when the Apple Jacks are a year old.
Americans might be starting to actually cut down on added sugar. At least 58% of poll respondents in spring of 2016 said they’d tried to limit sugar in their diets in the past 30 days. When you’re trying to cut down on added sugar, look at sodas, yogurt, kid snacks, “nutrition” bars, cereal, and other places where sugar can hide--not just candy!
Candy Experiments potion from the Harry Potter book release signing party
Watch this purple potion turn blue, then bubbling purple, then bubbling pink!
Is it magic...or science?
To make the potion yourself:
Pour purple cabbage indicator into cup.*
Add baking soda to turn it blue.
Add a Warhead to make the potion bubble and start turning purple again.
Add Pixy Stix powder to turn the potion pink and bubbly.
Purple cabbage juice is an acid-base indicator. Add something basic, like baking soda, and it turns blue. Neutralize the baking soda with an acidic Warhead, and it starts turning purple again, while the acid reacts with the baking soda to make bubbles. Acidic Pixy Stix complete the potion by turning the indicator pink.
Happy Harry Potter Day!
* Make cabbage indicator by letting chopped red cabbage sit in water for an hour, or boiling it for more color. Strain and refrigerate.
