5 Kid-Friendly Science Experiments and Activities

You might think of your eggs as a delicious and nutritious part of a well-balanced diet, but did you know you can use them for more than just eating? That’s right: eggs can be scrambled, hard-boiled, served sunny-side-up, and used for fun, kid-friendly science experiments the whole family can enjoy.

We’ve picked out five “eggs”-periments that offer quick and easy ways to learn about science with kids of all ages. These hands-on activities demonstrate cool facts about physics, chemistry, and more using eggs and household items. Let’s get cracking!

1. Make Rubber Eggs

Place a cooked or raw egg into a glass of vinegar and watch a chemical reaction occur. Your egg will slowly become translucent and squishy, just like rubber!

You’ll need:

• An egg (cooked or raw)

• A drinking glass

• White vinegar

Steps:

1. Place your egg in the tall drinking glass

2. Pour white vinegar into the glass until the egg is completely submerged

3. Let the egg soak overnight

4. In the morning, take the egg out of the vinegar. Rinse the glass before putting the egg back in the glass and pouring fresh vinegar over the egg

5. Repeat steps 1-4 for six nights

6. After seven days, take the egg out of the water and rinse it off

7. Carefully observe the egg: What does it look like? How does it feel in your hand? What happens when you drop it from three inches above a hard surface?

2. Create a safe egg drop structure

Can you build a structure that protects an egg when dropped from 10 ft. in the air?

You’ll need:

• A raw egg

• Assorted materials: Try plastic straws, cardboard, tape, cotton balls, and balloons to start

• A ladder or step stool

• A mop and some soap (Just in case!)

Steps:

1. Brainstorm ideas for how you’ll build a safe, stable structure to protect the egg when it hits the ground

2. Build your structure using whatever materials you like. We suggest plastic straws, cardboard, tape, and balloons to get started

3. Place your egg in the structure and drop the structure from 3 ft. off the ground

4. If the egg breaks or almost breaks, repeat steps 1-3

5. If the egg seems secure, try going higher! Use a ladder or step stool to try larger heights until you reach 10 ft. off the ground

3. Stand on eggs

Do you think highly fragile eggs can support your body weight? The answer might surprise you!

You’ll need:

• Two dozen raw eggs

Steps:

1. Position two cartons of a dozen eggs each side by side on the floor

2. In bare feet, slowly step onto the eggs. You won’t break them if you step on slowly and stand still!

How it works:
Eggshells have a unique arched shape which helps them to distribute the weight or force applied to them evenly in all directions. When you stand on an egg with your foot, your weight gets spread out across the entire surface of the eggshell. This means that the pressure on any single point of the eggshell is not too high, and the shell doesn't crack.

4. Find out how much weight eggs can support

An egg only weighs about 50 grams. How much weight do you think it can support?

You’ll need:

• 3 raw eggs

• 6 plastic bottle caps

• A cookie sheet or large platter

• Heavy household items like books and canned food

• A food scale (optional)

Steps:

1. Place three plastic bottle caps in a triangle on a flat, hard surface

2. Carefully balance one egg on its end in each of the bottle caps

3. Place the three remaining caps on the other end of the egg

4. Carefully rest your cookie sheet or serving platter on the triangle you’ve made out of eggs and bottle caps

5. Start stacking! Place heavy items like books and canned food on the cookie sheet. For extra data, weigh each item on a food scale before you add it to the sheet. See how much weight it takes for the three eggs to crack

How it works:
This experiment also works due to the egg’s arched shape distributing weight evenly in all directions. It’s a great way to learn about how different structures can support different amounts of weight due to physics!

5. See the effects of soda on your teeth

This is a great experiment to help kids and adults alike understand the effect sugary drinks have on teeth.

You’ll need:

• 2 eggs

• 2 drinking glasses

• Your favorite soda or fruit punch

• Water

Steps:

1. Place one egg into each of the two glasses

2. Pour water into one glass and your favorite sugary drink into the other

3. Refrigerate for 48 hrs

4. Take the eggs out of the drinks and record your results

How it works:
The outer layer of an eggshell is similar to the enamel that covers our teeth. When you submerge one egg in water and the other in sugary soda or fruit punch, you are simulating what happens when you drink these beverages.

Soda is loaded with sugars that are harmful to teeth. In the experiment, you'll notice that the egg soaked in the sugary drink may show signs of damage, such as discoloration or a softer shell. This is similar to what happens to our teeth when we consume sugary drinks regularly.

On the other hand, the egg soaked in water is likely to remain unchanged, demonstrating the importance of choosing water or other non-sugary beverages for our overall oral health.