Playing is fun and learning can be too!

How to Expand a Balloon using Soda and Candy! Ages 2+

Age 2+, Age 3+, Age 4+, Age 5+, Age 6+, Fall, Science

What happens when you put nerds/pop rocks in soda?

Materials(affiliate links):
Pop Rocks
Nerds
Balloon
Funnel
Soda

Here is a video of the boys doing the activity!

Posted by LEARN as you PLAY- Preschool Activities on Saturday, June 2, 2018

Attach a balloon to the mouth of a funnel and pour the candy into the balloon. Next attach the balloon to a soda bottle. We used 12 ounce bottles for our experiment. Be careful to not let any of the candy spill into the soda while you are attaching it.

Once the balloon is securely on the soda bottle shake the contents of the balloon into the soda. First we did pop rocks. We used one package of Pop Rocks for the first balloon and two for the second, and the expanded balloons were nearly identical.

Then we tried nerds!

The nerds produced a much larger reaction.

Before we tested out the experiment I let the boys taste and feel the candies. We talked about there similarities and differences. They also predicted which candy they thought would make the balloon bigger. The boys made some great observations during this experiment. They noticed that the pop rocks fizzed and stayed at the top of the bottle because they were lighter. The nerds were heavier and sunk to the bottom of the bottle but had a much larger reaction.

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Shann Acevedo

Hi I’m Shann, a Preschool Teacher, mother of three and Creator of Learn As You Play. I have been working as a preschool teacher for 13 years with children ranging from 1- 5 years old. I believe that PLAY is a huge part of children’s learning and development. Children should be active and involved in their learning. Children learn best by doing. My goal is for children to develop a love for learning while having fun!

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