Super Science!

Solid, Liquid & Gas with Jello

What do you remember enjoying from science? I bet it's all the experiments.

Todays blog is created for a young British girl in Year 1 who loves to learn, I hope you have as much fun as I have had today.

I'm going to show you how all ages can have fun with this experiment though.

Gelatin found in Jello has been around since the 15th century, and used to be something only enjoyed by royals and the upper classes. Who would of guessed?

I will start off with something for the little ones.

Jello (Jelly) provides opportunities for your baby and toddler to develop all their senses, smell, taste, sound, touch and sight.

Watch as the child explores the texture with their little hands, squeeze it between the fingers, listen to it slop off the spoon. By adding fruit to the mixture when making it, will add another level of texture, smell and taste! Let them get messy and discover.

If you aren't keen on the sugar and additives included in some jellos, remember you can use regular gelatin and choose your own liquid to flavor it such as apple juice.

For those a little older, get out those plastic dinosaurs, farm animals or any other figurines and promote that little imagination.

You can create different levels of jello too, I started by making a layer of apple jello followed by watermelon. In between the levels you can hide things for the child to find.

Today I got my lego space ship which was built for me by a 10yr old boy, which I have carried across the country and pretended my spaceship has landed on Mars. It seemed desolate, the treasure was mine to keep! Alas, as I started to carry the gold back to the mother ship, aliens who had laid asleep under the surface awoke wit the movement of the gold, I now had two mega guns aimed right at me!

The world is your oyster with this activity.

Next is the experimentation part!

I wont disclose the results though :)

Solids, liquids and gasses. How can you change these states of matter?

Experiment 1:

Dissolve.

Gather 4 bowls, place sugar in one, salt in another and then the final two with water. Add a small amount of sugar to one water bowl, and a very small amount of salt to the other bowl. Stir and mix well. Are the matertials (sugar and salt) still there? How can we tell? They are indeed still there, but they are now so small we can no longer see them, but we know they are there because we can taste them. Swap the water bowls around a few times and see if your child can tell which one is going to be sweet.

Experiment with different things you may have, find out what dissolves and what doesn't, ask them to make predictions.

Experiment 2:

Follow directions on packet for jello. You can also use apple juice instead of water, boil as normal.

When measuring you might want to use a turkey baster in place of a pippete.

What is the difference between solids, liquids and gasses?

Lets make this simple for kids:

Everything contains atoms.

Solids contain atoms which are held closely together, so they can't move around.

Liquids are where atoms are not held too closely together, so can move around.

Gases are where atoms are even more loosely held together.

How do we change matters from each form?

By applying heat and cooling the materials.

When waiting for the liquid to boil, expand the child's knowledge by explaining what is happening. What will happen when the liquid is boiling? Evaporation! They are creating gas! Can they feel the steam on their face?

Now you can watch the Jello dissolve.

After following packets instructions, place in refridgerator and let your child watch a liquid turn into a solid.

Take this experiment to a new level by:

Try using cold water instead, does the jello still set?

Try using fizzy water. Does the jello set? Does the jello taste fizzy?

Your child just mastered the science of solids, liquids and gasses and made a tasty treat all in one!

Happy Jello Making!