Candy is everywhere this week so we wanted to use it for some after school learning! We did another dissolving science experiment, but this time the goal was to dissolve the M off of an M&M.
Have you tried this one before? It is really cool!
M&M Candy Experiment Supplies:
- M&Ms
- Bowl of water
That’s it! Put a couple M&Ms in the water with the M side up and observe what happens.
We talked about how the coating on the M&M was made of colored sugar that dissolves easily in water. It was very interesting to see which colors started to dissolve and spread first.
The M from the orange candy was the first to float up!
Isn’t it cool to see all the Ms floating around? If you touch them they will stick to you finger perfectly intact. The M is made out of more than just sugar so it doesn’t dissolve as quickly. This is a fun science activity to do with kids of all ages so makes a perfect after school activity that the whole family can enjoy!
I shared this activity on the Spooky Candy Science Hangout with Inspiration Laboratories! Check out the other fun ideas shared in her Creepy Crawlies & Candy Science post. I also loved the Candy Activities for Kids series on Learn Play Imagine.
More Candy Activities:
- Exploring Candy from Gift of Curiosity (she did this science activity with her preschoolers but school age kids would like it too!)
- Pop Rocks Candy Apples from B-Inspired Mama
- Candy Corn Math from Mess for Less (this is a great one for Kindergarten, you could add the pumpkins together to extend the learning with school age kids)
- Candy Activities Kids Love from Frog and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails (TONS of fun ideas!)
- Candy Bone Snack from FSPDT
- Gummy Bear Science Experiment from FSPDT
Natalie F says
October 28, 2013 at 5:27 pmWe have to do this classic experiment one of these days, especially with having all the Halloween loot in the house… Thanks for sharing with Afterschool!
Chantelle Sessa says
October 28, 2013 at 7:45 pmIt’s better if you use skittles 🙂
Coffee Cups and Crayons says
October 28, 2013 at 7:51 pmWe did that too! It is cool!
Nikoi says
October 31, 2013 at 9:58 pmWe just tried this and I don’t know what went wrong but it didn’t do what the picture showed..
Megan Sheakoski says
November 1, 2013 at 9:34 pmOh no! What happened instead? Were the M&Ms M side up? Here’s a link to a video that shows it if that helps: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2kIqlxI7K4&feature=share
Shay says
January 29, 2014 at 6:33 pmAbout how long does it take for the letter to come off?
Megan Sheakoski says
January 29, 2014 at 9:28 pmYou should start to see it change fairly quickly. Within minutes most of ours were floating!
Courtney DIckey says
February 12, 2015 at 10:21 amAre the M & M better in cold water or warm water?
Megan Sheakoski says
February 13, 2015 at 7:45 amGood question! Warmer water would dissolve more quickly and it’s pretty fast so I would say cold so you can really see the change. But testing out both would be fun too!