Let’s be honest: kids love to eat! This makes food a great addition to any task that you want to get your child excited about. When I was teaching in school, my students would always become the most excited when food was involved in the lessons. So, here are 25 edible science projects that you can use to teach different science concepts.
1. Ice Cream in a Bag
In this science project, students are taught how ice cream is made from milk, cream, vanilla extract, ice, and salt.
Learn more: What Do We Do All Day
2. Pop-Rock Science Experiment
Attach a balloon filled with pop rocks candy to the cap of a 1-liter soda bottle. Let the pop rocks candy fall into the soda and students can watch (and try to explain!) how the balloon inflates.
Learn more: 123 Homeschool 4 Me
3. Glow in the Dark Jello
Have your students ever wondered how to make something glow in the dark? Then try this experiment where students can make jello that glows in the dark!
Learn more: Instructables
4. Making Fizzy Lemonade
In this experiment, students make their lemonade fizz by adding baking soda to the recipe!
Learn more: Learn with Play at Home
5. Edible Water Bottle
Did you know that it is possible to make an edible water bottle? This science project allows students to make their own water bottle that is edible and biodegradable.
Learn more: YouTube
6. Edible Butterfly Cycle
Let students learn the life cycle of a butterfly with food!
Learn more: My Joy-Filled Life
7. Animal Cell Cookies
No more boring textbook learning for your students! Instead, let them bake cookies to explore animal cells!
Learn more: Adventures in MommyDOM
8. Skittles Rainbow Density
Students can make their own rainbow water with skittles in this experiment.
Learn more: Gifts of Curiosity
9. Microwave a Peep
Learn about what heat does to marshmallow candies! For this experiment, simply place the peep in the microwave for a few seconds, predict what will happen, and then check and see!
Learn more: hallecake
10. Exploding Watermelons!
Learn about kinetic and potential energy by making watermelons explode using only rubber bands!
Learn more: 123 Homeschool 4 Me
11. Will it Melt?
Students can improve their understanding of heat and melt by leaving candies outside in the sun and seeing which melt!
Learn more: Playdough to Plato
12. Hot Cocoa and Melting Snowman Marshmallows
Students can continue to learn about heat and melting in this experiment. Students will make hot chocolate with cold, warm, and hot water to see which marshmallows melt the fastest.
Learn more: Arts and Crackers
13. Edible Glass
Students can replicate how glass is made by making sugar glass from grains of sugar that transform into a transparent sheet.
Learn more: Go Science Kids
14. Gumdrop Bridge Challenge
Do your students think they can build a bridge with only gumdrops and toothpicks? Let them test their understanding of gravity, shapes, and materials in this experiment.
Learn more: Little Bins for Little Hands
15. Sugar Cookie Solar System
Learn about the solar system with sugar cookies! The students can decorate sugar cookies with different colors and features to replicate the planets in the solar system.
Learn more: Simply Living Creative Learning
16. Solar Oven S’mores
Make solar-powered ovens by lining pizza boxes with aluminum foil and sheet protectors. Students can place the S’mores inside their ‘oven’ and watch them start to melt.
Learn more: Lemon Lime Adventures
17. Earth Structural Layer Cake
Want an interesting way for students to understand the layers of the earth? Then bake a layered cake!
Learn more: Cake Crumbs
18. Gummy Fossil Experiment
Learn about fossils with food! Make layers of ‘rock’ by placing candies between layers of bread. Place books on top and leave for a few hours. Later, take off the books and see what happened!
Learn more: Teach Beside Me
19. Making Dinosaur Prints
Let students make their own fossils using mud dough and dinosaurs toys in this activity.
Learn more: Rainy Day Mum
20. Dancing Raisins
Place raisins in a glass of fluid and watch the raisins dance! Why is this is happening? Explore reactions with vinegar and baking soda through this experiment.
Learn more: 123 Homeschool 4 Me
21. Sink or Float Candy
Gather up a range of your students’ favorite candy bars and place them in water to test if they sink or float!
Learn more: Reading Confetti
22. The Biology of Yogurt
Have your students ever wondered how yogurt is made? In this experiment, let students make their own yogurt and compare its taste to store-bought versions.
Learn more: Left Brain Craft Brain
23. Growing Gummy Bears
Think your students will enjoy watching gummy bear candies grow? In this experiment, students can place gummy bears in salted water and see what happens over time!
Learn more: Playdough to Plato
24. How to Grow Lettuce
Get green-fingered in class and grow some lettuce! Students simply place a lettuce stalk into the water and watch new lettuce grow.
Learn more: Laughing Kids Learn
25. Seeds in a Bag
Place beans and other seeds into a ziplock bag with wet paper towels and watch how they grow from seeds to fully sprouted seeds.
Learn more: Life Over C’s
If you are looking for engaging and memorable science experiments, then follow the ideas above and watch your students fall in love with science lessons!
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I make science fun?
Well, incorporating food into your science lessons is certainly a good way to capture your students’ attention and engage them in the learning. You also need to ensure that you are giving the students lots of hands-on opportunities. While learning through videos and books and watching science demonstrations have a place within science learning, it is the active experiments that will have the most impact on both the students’ understanding and engagement in the subject.
What is a good experiment?
In a good experiment, students will need to practice scientific skills, such as predicting, observing, recording results, and analyzing what has happened. It is really important that students understand what a fair test is when conducting experiments and that they are asked to plan and conduct their own experiments, instead of being given a detailed list of steps to follow one by one.
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