2 kitchen experiments to help your kids explore the world of STEM
Kitchen isn’t a space to just hone culinary skills. It helps us develop a set of crucial life skills too. Additionally, it is a great companion for kids to explore STEM concepts. Here are 2 kitchen experiments worth trying out.
Walking Water Paper Towel
The spontaneous flow of a liquid into a narrow tube or porous substance is known as capillary action. The force of gravity is not required for this movement to occur. In fact, it frequently works against gravity. Capillary motion, capillarity, and wicking are all terms used to describe capillary action. This walking water paper towel experiment will introduce your kids to the science of capillarity.
What you’ll need
- 3 paper towels
- 6 glasses, ideally of similar size
- Red, blue and yellow food colours
- Water
How-to
Get these on a table, call your child and start the experiment. Here’s a step-by-step guide for your little learner to follow.
- Make a circle with your six glasses. Fill one glass with yellow food colour, skip a glass, pour red food colour into another, skip a glass, then fill the last glass with blue food colour. Add water to the glasses with colour.
- Each of the three paper towels should be cut in half lengthwise. You are free to use whichever type of paper towel you wish. One sheet of paper towel should be draped over the tops of two cups.
- Now, find that half of the coloured water travelled to the other side of the glass. The colour of the paper towel will be the same as the water you started with.
What happened in this experiment?
This experiment looks to defy gravity at first glance. How does water get from one glass to the next? Well, the answer is capillary action. The adhesive force between the paper towel and the water is, in essence, greater than the cohesive force within the water. As a result, the water is drawn up by the paper towel. Water continues to flow up the paper towel, across the bridge, and into the second cup.
Oobleck Dough
The name "Oobleck" comes from the children's book Bartholomew and the Oobleck by Dr. Seuss. Corn starch slime is another name for it. Oobleck is a non-Newtonian fluid, which means it changes viscosity (the ease with which it flows) under stress. When you run your fingers through corn-starch and water gently, it behaves like a liquid; yet, if you apply sudden force, it solidifies, bends, and even shreds. This experiment shows how a non-Newtonian fluid actually works.
What you’ll need
- Dish soap
- Corn starch or corn flour
How-to
Here’s a step-by-step guide to carry out this experiment. Help your budding scientist follow it.
- Start with a teaspoon of corn starch and a tablespoon of dish soap.
- Examine the consistency of the substance by mixing it. Is it as if it were a liquid? Is it like cornstarch in that it's powdery? Is it possible to stretch it? Is it possible to break it?
- Make some oobleck which has a thick syrupy consistency yet appears to be a solid when pressed firmly.
- Continue adding corn starch until a pliable dough forms. If it becomes too dry, apply extra dish soap.
What happened in this experiment?
The explanation for the strange behaviour of Oobleck lies in the shape of corn starch particles, which are long and thin. When corn starch is mixed with dish soap, it does not dissolve but rather remains suspended. Slowly move the mixture, and the particles will flow past one another. When you move it quickly, the particles tangle with one another, causing the mixture to solidify. Thus, the experiment showcases the properties of a non-Newtonian fluid and helps children know the difference between solids and fluids.