Dissolving Candy Corn Experiment

I am pretty sure that Fall is my favorite season. We have thoroughly enjoyed apple science, pumpkin activities, Fall STEM, and even spooky Halloween science experiments. Now here are some fun fall candy ideas for kids. Our dissolving candy corn experiment is a neat science experiment that is easy to set up with only simple supplies needed! Fall candy corn science is also a great activity to set up around times when your stock of candy is abundant. Candy corn, peeps, gum drops, there’s so much to explore.

DISSOLVING CANDY CORN EXPERIMENT FOR FALL CANDY IDEAS

FALL CANDY

Our fall candy corn experiment is a great visual science experiment which you can also add some math too. Plus, we have more fun things you can do with your fall candy as well. Check out our peppermint oobleck, and candy math ideas for more candy STEM activities!

ALSO MAKE SURE TO CHECK OUT: Candy Science Collection

CANDY CORN EXPERIMENT

All you need for this easy candy experiment are a few ingredients from the pantry and your favorite fall candy. My husband is big on peeps and candy corn. Neither are my favorite but somehow, as soon as the grocery store stocks them, so do we! This year was the first time my son tasted either of them and he was hooked. Perfect time to use up some of the candy brought home and have a little STEM fun!

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YOU WILL NEED:

Candy Corn (look for the gumdrop like pumpkins too!)
Peeps (ghosts and pumpkins)
Water, vinegar, oil, seltzer, cornstarch
Toothpicks
Clear cups
Timer

I used my iPhone as a timer for the dissolving candy experiment but any timer will do.

DISSOLVING CANDY EXPERIMENT SET UP

1. Measure and fill clear cups with each of the liquids you are using.

We used 5 liquids: cold water, hot water, oil, vinegar, and seltzer as our potential solvents.

2. Place your candy in each of the cups and start the timer. Observe what happens to the candy in each liquid.

We did two rounds. In the first round we used peep candy {both pumpkins and ghosts}. In the second round, we used our candy corn.

It was perfect to use two different candies because we quickly found out that the peeps simply floated, but the candy corn sank. They also have two very different dissolving times which raises some interesting questions.

Extension: For an older child, this dissolving candy activity would make a great entry for a science journal where he or she can take notes and record times!

Within minutes our dissolving candy science experiment was well underway with the candy corn!

It was particularly interesting how the waxy layer on the surface of the candy corn pulled away from the candy first. We actually repeated this part a couple of times since my son was so interested in it!

Which liquid dissolves candy corn the fastest? Make your predictions and test your theories! This is a much quicker dissolving candy experiment if you need results right away!

We did the exact same experiment with pumpkin and ghost peeps! I left the timer running for quite a long time! Peeps float which creates a whole new kind of experiment.

Would you do anything differently to change the experiment? The results over an extended period of time were interesting.

MORE COOL THINGS TO DO WITH CANDY

CANDY CORN STRUCTURES

While we had the candy corn bag out, I grabbed a container of toothpicks to see if we could build structures with candy corn. It is challenging but not impossible! There was some trial and error and the candy corn will break if you are not very careful. We discovered some techniques for making it work though.

Overall the candy building activity taught problem solving skills, creative thinking, and patience even if it did not yield incredible structures. Gumdrops are much less frustrating for structure building if you need an alternative!

CANDY CORN OOBLECK

One of our other favorite dissolving candy activities is to test them out with a non-newtonian fluid! Our peppermint oobleck was a hit! Check out our oobleck recipe to make this Non-Newtonian fluid and read about the science behind it. Add a handful of candy corn and observe both the cool science behind the activity and the dissolving candy! Makes great tactile sensory play too.

Spend the afternoon with candy corn this Fall for easy hands-on science play and learning. Happy Fall experimenting!

MORE FUN CANDY EXPERIMENTS