The bouncy egg

Kitchen science is a great way to get kids involved in learning about the way things work. Try making a bouncy egg by putting it in vinegar. The video below shows you all the steps you need to take.

What you need:

• half a cup of white vinegar
• 1 x egg
• 1 x drinking glass

Number of players:
1

Activity:

Thanks to our sister company Kidspot Australia for the instructional video.

Pour the vinegar into the glass

Put the egg in the vinegar.

Leave it for at least two days. Keep an eye on it, watch how it changes.

After two days, take it out. The shell will have dissolved. You can carefully, gently bounce it from a low height.

Hints and tips:

Whatever you do, don’t try bouncing it from a great height like we did (see video!) It’s still an egg inside, not a super ball!

Why is it so?

A chemical change takes place.

The vinegar, which is an acid, reacts with the calcium carbonate of the eggshell. The change makes the shell go soft and then disappear.

This is called, ‘decalcification.’