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Got lots of candy-canes lying around at Christmas time? Try a simple a fun dissolving candy canes science experiment with your kids using supplies from the kitchen!
If your kids are anything like mine, science experiments are always a win!
My two little ones are always up for a good experiment, especially when it involves food, or candy!
Prepping for Candy Cane Science Experiment with Kids
This experiment requires very little prep. It’s so simple, you’re going to love it!
To Do This Dissolving Candy Canes Science Experiment, You’ll Need:
- 3 candy canes (not broken)
- 3 glasses you can see through
- white vinegar
- cold water
- boiling water
- metal spoon
- paper
- pen
- clock
Setting up Your Candy Cane Science Experiment
Setting up is quick and easy.
Pick a spot for the experiment.
We chose the dining table and added a placemat in case of spills.
Write labels for each glass on paper: Hot Water, Cold Water, Vinegar.
Place the labels under the 3 cups.
Fill the cups. Each one with a different liquid to match its label.
Older kids may want to help pour the water and vinegar, but I chose to do the boiling water myself.
TIP: Put a metal spoon in the glass before pouring hot water into it. This will stop it from cracking under the pressure of the heat.
Make sure the cups are all filled to about the same spot for comparable outcomes.
Carefully unwrap the candy canes.
Dissolving Candy Cane Science Experiment
Now it’s time to watch the magic!
Have your child place one candy cane in each of the cups and hook it over the edge.
Next we each made our prediction of which one would dissolve the candy cane first!
Charlie picked the hot water, Maisie picked the vinegar, and I was left with the cold water.
This added to the excitement!
Time to start the clock!
At this point we could see that the hot water was already stripping all the color from the candy cane.
Charlie was super excited!
After about 5 minutes we could tell that the vinegar and cold water didn’t stand a chance against the dissolving power of hot water!
We checked them constantly for the next couple minutes.
Then we took them out to take a closer look at what was happening inside the glasses.
We were completely fascinated with how the candy canes were dissolving so distinctly in our science experiment.
The kids loved how it looked cut off where the water levels touched.
And how perfect the candy canes looked above where the fluids touched.
We put the candy canes back in the fluids and watched closely to see exactly when the bottom of the one in hot water was going to finally disappear completely.
Tracking the results
And then it happened!
At 7 minutes the candy cane in hot water was officially dissolved.
Wow! That was so much faster than I had expected.
Charlie was over the moon! He had made the correct prediction and was super happy.
Now it was up to Maisie and I to see which one would be next.
Maisie was sure she would be second.
Because she said that mommy is always last.
Which is basically true, because I never feel the need to beat my kids to the door, or car, or couch. Haha
We came in and checked on the experiment every 5-10 minutes.
Our candy canes were definitely dissolving.
But it was much slower than the hot water.
At about 30 minutes it was clear that this was going to be a close call.
Maisie and I decided to settle in next to the experiment to make sure we didn’t miss out on which candy cane was going to dissolve next!
And then it happened! My 2 year old was right.
Vinegar was the next liquid in our science experiment to win the race to dissolve candy canes.
Coming in at 37 minutes, we had our second place winner.
And finally, coming in at 42 minutes, cold water finally dissolved the candy cane!
Our final count in this Christmas science experiment showed that hot water was by far the fastest at dissolving candy canes!
We had lots of fun and our kitchen smelled so minty fresh!
This was a total win around here!
Now to figure out what to do with all the rest of these candy canes…
What interesting ways have you found to use candy canes that don’t get eaten?
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