We are focusing on the harvest theme this week. We are lucky to have family farms close by and we stopped this week at a Farmer’s Market stand and bought some freshly harvested corn. The kids love corn and corn on the cob is always a hit in our family. To celebrate the harvest theme, we decided to do a fun science experiment using the corn. Luckily, this experiment uses very little corn, leaving the rest for eating!
Corny Science: Will it sink or float?
You will need:
- Two clear glasses
- Children’s drinking cups (for number of children participating)
- Club soda (carbonated water)
- Water (still)
- Two kernels of fresh corn
- Two kernels of dried popcorn un-popped
- Two pieces of popcorn
Pour a little still water into each child’s cup. Have the children drink the water. Then, have each child taste a little carbonated water. Have them observe the differences between the carbonated and still water. Next, pour some still water into one clear glass and some carbonated water into another glass Have the children observe and discuss the behavior of the bubbles in the carbonated water. Teach them the basic definition of the word buoyancy and use variations of the word throughout the lesson so that they grasp the meaning.
The pictures on the left are their reactions to still water and the images on the right capture their reactions to carbonated water. You can see we have never served them soda before.
Set the kernels of fresh corn, dried popcorn and popped popcorn on the table. Prior to dropping each kernel of corn into the two types of water, have each child predict if it will float or sink. Then, have your child drop a kernel of fresh corn into the still water and see what happens. Next, have your child, drop a fresh kernel into the carbonated water and observe the result. Repeat with the dried corn and then finally the popped corn. Discuss how the bubbles in the carbonated water help the corn to float. If you’d like to take it a step further, create a simple bar graph that they can color in to demonstrate the differences.
The kids had a great time with this experiment and loved seeing whether or not their predictions came true. Some figured out that the bubbles in the carbonated water helped the kernels to float even before we had that discussion. I love to see the look of wonder in their eyes as they make new discoveries.
Learning with Gourds: Comparing, Sorting, and Labeling for Fall by Still Playing School
Corny Science: Will it sink or float? by Capri + 3
Plants We Eat {which are roots, stems, leaves, fruit} by Raising Lifelong Learners
Harvesting in the Carrot Patch by Powerful Mothering
Preschool Math: Measuring Pumpkins by Mom Inspired Life
Making Bread by Rainy Day Mum
#PlayfulPreschool Harvest Time Math by Tiny Tots Adventures
Alphabet Activities: Letter Harvest by Growing Book by Book
There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves Sequencing Cards & Power Point by The Preschool Toolbox Blog
Go Global: Harvests Around the World by The Educators’ Spin On It
Harvest Time: Jamaican Style Music by Learning 2 Walk
Pumpkin Patch Sensory Bin: Practicing Matching with Preschoolers by Life Over C’s
Little Red Hen Activity – Retelling through Sensory Play by Fun-A-Day
Pumpkin Activities for Preschool by Little Bins for Little Hands
This is AWSOME! I want to try this today because my kids are huge popcorn fans and we just saw the corn in the field. I don't have fresh corn in my fridge – wonder if the frozen corn will substitute in just fine?
Hi Amanda. I thought about the frozen corn but have not tried it. I don't see why it wouldn't work, especially if it was thawed. I hope you enjoy giving this a try with your kids.
: 0 ) Theresa
This is a fantastic science experiment for preschoolers! We are going to try it out this week.
Thank you Danielle. I hope you enjoy it.
: 0 ) Theresa
What a fun experimeter for them to do.I think this will go over well with my girls, can't wait to try it.
I just love how preschoolers find experiments so fascinating! I love to watch them learning like this.
My kids will love this! My son found a corn cob at the playground today and was fascinated with it so this will be a great activity to do for us.
I love how you tested two different types of water! Sink or float is a favorite here!
Thank you Natasha.
I hope your kids enjoy it.
: 0 ) Theresa
Hi Nicolette.
I enjoy their discoveries too. There is a certain magic in watching their eyes light up.
: 0 ) Theresa
Hi Growing Book by Book.
I hope you enjoy the activity. I love that your little one was fascinated by a corn cob. It is wonderful to see the world through a child's eyes.
: 0 ) Theresa
Hi Sarah.
Sink or float is fun. It was interesting to see the differences using the carbonated water.
: 0 ) Theresa
Great idea to vary the materials! What a fun experiment!
Thank you Devany.
We did find it more fun to try the different materials in the two kinds of water. Now that we've tried that, using one kind of water would be a little anticlimactic!
: 0 ) Theresa
This is a great science and discovery activity for harvest time! I love how you tried different varieties of corn! Great job!
Thank you Preschool Toolbox.
We had a lot of fun.
: 0 ) Theresa
This looks so much fun – I'm going to give it a try after finally finding corn for popping in the UK after looking for 15 years
Hi Cerys.
I did not realize that popping corn was so hard to find in the UK. It sounds like you may have found some? Enjoy.
: 0 Theresa
Oh, I've never tried sink or float with corn! I can't wait to try this out with my preschoolers next week. 🙂
How clever! I can't wait to try this.
Hi Mary Catherine.
I hope your preschoolers enjoy it. It is a lot of fun.
: 0 ) Theresa
Hi Kate.
I hope you have as much fun as we did trying it out.
: 0 ) Theresa
I love all the different variables that you tried out! Looks like a lot of fun!
Great idea! Will have to try it with my son 🙂 Thanks for linking with Tuesday Tutorials #pintorials
Hi Crafts on Sea.
Thank you for hosting Tuesday Tutorials. I enjoyed visiting as seeing so many great ideas!
: 0 ) Theresa