We’re continuing with our summer theme of simple STEAM this week with an egg-cellent science experiment you can do at home with just three items. All you need is an egg, a jar or glass, and some vinegar, and you can make an eggshell disappear!
Gently put your egg in your jar or glass and add vinegar to cover the whole egg. Within a few minutes, bubbles will start to form around the egg. This is the beginning of a chemical reaction.
What’s happening, exactly? Eggshells are made from calcium carbonate, and vinegar contains acetic acid. When these two substances mix, they generate a reaction that creates water, calcium acetate, and carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide causes the bubbles that you see!
Check on your egg after 24 hours. What do you observe? What has changed? Does your egg look different? Are there more bubbles, or fewer bubbles?
Wait another 24 hours (a total of 48 hours), and your eggshell will have completely disappeared! Take it out of the jar and rinse it off. What does it look like? Hold it in your hand… What does it feel like? It should have a rubbery feel to it, almost like handling a rubber bouncy ball.
You can try variations of this experiment by using different kinds of eggs. Compare the reaction between free range, organic, and non-organic eggs. Or, try different types of vinegar (white, apple cider, balsamic, red wine) and observe any differences in the results.
There are other items that contain calcium carbonate, as well. Do you have chalk at home? After doing the egg experiment, what do you think will happen if the chalk comes into contact with vinegar? Test your theory!
Find the full experiment from STEM Education Guide HERE.
As always, get as creative as you want, and above all, have lots of fun learning together!
We’ll see you right back here next Saturday for another STEAM Saturday activity! Scroll through the rest of our website to learn how Critchlow Adkins is Building Brighter Futures for the children and families we serve!
