Stormy day, big library crowds!

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.

Apple Jack experiments

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 thinking about added sugar

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!

“Newsbites” April 2016, pg 1, Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter

Lucky Charms, Sugar, and the General Mills Journey

General Mills is on an exciting journey to be responsible and give back.

Apparently, "That's why Lucky Charms Has... 10 g of sugar per serving."



Written in the finest marketing speech, this sounds like bragging. But it's not. Since a serving size is only 27 grams, this cereal is 37% sugar.

That's like eating eight nickel-wide Smartie candies.

A Candy Experiments potion to celebrate Harry Potter

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:

1. Pour purple cabbage indicator into cup.*
2. Add baking soda to turn it blue.
3. Add a Warhead to make the potion bubble and start turning purple again.
4. 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.

Tricky lollipop math

You might be able to eat just one-half of a lollipop, or one-fourth. But if you were given this giant lollipop, could you eat just one ninth?

Giant lollipop weighing 141.7 g or 5 oz

You'd have to, if you wanted to stick to just one serving.

Label reads: serving size 1/9 piece (15 g)

And if you did, you'd be getting 15.7 g, which rounds up to 16, not the 15 promised on the label. Hmm...

Raindrops?

Black circles appear and join together on this foggy film. Raindrops?  No, they're water drops that have condensed from steam onto plastic wrap. As they draw together, surface tension joins the droplets in sudden bursts, producing bigger and bigger droplets, appearing suddenly as new dark circles.