Easter is approaching! The holiday associated with chicks, bunnies, and bright colored eggs is coming on April 17th this year. Children all around the world can enjoy the day by taking part in these simple Easter inspired STEM activities.
Egg In a Bottle
This is an experiment centered around air pressure. Air pressure is the force exerted by air on a surface. You will need a boiled egg removed from its shell, a glass bottle or jar with a neck slightly smaller than the egg, and matches. The egg should not be able to drop through when placed on top of the glass bottle or jar.
When a match is lit and dropped in the jar, quickly place the egg on top and you will see the egg slowly drop down once the match goes out! This is because the match heats up the air inside the jar or bottle and the air expands.
Once the match is out, the air cools and the air pressure drops, causing for the air outside to be higher than the pressure inside. The air outside forces its way inside the jar which results in the egg being moved downwards at the same time.
Shrinking Egg
This experiment involves osmosis. Osmosis is the movement of water through a semipermeable membrane from a region of higher solute concentration to a region of lower solute concentration. You will need a boiled egg, water, two glasses, and sugar.
Create a sugar solution with sugar and water. After removing the boiled egg from its shell, place the egg in a glass of sugar solution. The egg in the sugar solution should float because the sugar solution is more dense than the egg.
If you leave the egg inside the solution for 24 hours, you will see the egg in the sugar solution shrink! This is because the water moves between the egg and the sugar solution until the concentration is the same for both. As the water moves from the egg to the sugar solution, the egg shrinks.
Placing the egg in a plain glass of water will move the water back to the egg, making the egg increase in size again.
Toothpick Structures
This experiment will have children build a structure to hold a chocolate egg off the ground. You will need toothpicks, plasticine, paper, and chocolate eggs.
This activity will allow children to be creative and use engineering skills. The only instruction is to use the materials listed above to create a structure that can hold the chocolate egg. The rules are that the structure must hold without using any extra support or additional materials.
You can arrange the toothpicks in any shape, including triangles and squares, to see which work best.
Fizzy Easter Eggs
This is an experiment using baking soda to create Easter eggs that fizz. You will need an egg shaped mold, water, food coloring, baking soda, and vinegar.
You will begin by adding food coloring to water and pouring the water into the egg molds. Mix in a tablespoon of baking soda to the eggs you want to be fizzy. Then put them in the freezer until they are frozen through.
Once frozen, pour vinegar over the eggs with baking soda and watch them fizz away! This reaction is caused by the vinegar (the acid) and the baking soda (the alkali) neutralizing each other. This releases carbon dioxide, which is the gas of the bubbles.
All activities listed are not only cost-effective, but exciting as well! Children can complete them individually or as a team to maximize the fun. These activities need to be done safely so please have children complete them under the supervision of a parent or guardian and have a blast with science this Easter!
By Amanda Aber
Written On 3/29/22
Citations
Vanstone, E. (2021, February 10). Egg in a bottle experiment – how to get an egg in a bottle. Science Experiments for Kids. Retrieved March 29, 2022, from https://www.science-sparks.com/egg-in-a-bottle/
Vanstone, E. (2021, March 3). Easter toothpick structures – easter stem challenge. Science Experiments for Kids. Retrieved March 29, 2022, from https://www.science-sparks.com/easter-toothpick-structures/
Vanstone, E., & Laboratories, T. @ I. (2016, April 5). Fizzy, frozen Easter eggs. Science Experiments for Kids. Retrieved March 29, 2022, from https://www.science-sparks.com/fizzy-frozen-easter-eggs/
Vanstone, E., Helen, ScienceSparks, Co, C. &, Sandy, Randals, A., [Email Protected], Chattalie, Carolyn, article, P. correct the, Sarah, & Shall. (2021, November 19). Find out how to shrink an egg ( and make it grow again ). Science Experiments for Kids. Retrieved March 29, 2022, from https://www.science-sparks.com/shrinking-eggs/
Vanstone, E., Laboratories, T. @ I., Mom, J. D., & Cardenas, J. (2022, March 10). Easter science – great easter experiments for kids. Science Experiments for Kids. Retrieved March 29, 2022, from https://www.science-sparks.com/fun-easter-science-experiments/
