Dancing Gummy Worms
Worms can wiggle and crawl, but did you know they can dance? With some simple ingredients and a little science, you can watch them boogie! This is a fun and simple experiment that can be tasty too, since you’ll only need about 4 of your gummy worms for the experiment and you can eat the rest!
Supplies
3-4 Gummy worms
Scissors (for adult use)
3 TBS Baking Soda
1 Cup Warm Water
White Vinegar
2 large mason jars or clear drinking glasses
Fork & Spoon
For this experiment to work you will need to cut your gummy worms lengthwise into thirds. You want long skinny worms. (Using your cutting tool wet or coated in baking soda will help to prevent sticking as you cut.)
1. In one of your jars, add warm water and baking soda, mix to dissolve.
2. Add your worms and use your spoon to cover the worms with the baking soda that has settled to the bottom. Now, this is the hard part! Wait for at least 15-20 min. This allows the gummy worms to absorb some of the baking soda’s alkaline properties.
3. Fill your 2nd jar 2/3rds of the way up with vinegar.
4. Once the wait is over, use your fork to fish out your worms and gently place them in the jar of vinegar and watch them DANCE!
If your kids love this experiment, you could try it out with other items in your kitchen. Does it work with a fruit snack, a carrot, a pretzel? Make some hypotheses and test it out. Let us know in the comments what worked!
