I have two fun candy cane hands-on winter experiments. And be sure you grab more ideas for science winter fun on my page Winter Season Unit Study.
Candy canes are plentiful right now and did you know that they make for a tasty, easy, and inexpensive item for science experiments?
Your kids will love tasting and exploring the world of science with these two simple hands on science experiments in honor of National Candy Cane Day on December 26.
These experiments are a great way to introduce all sorts of scientific terms like hypothesis and bonds.
You can encourage them to make educated guesses (hypothesis) document results, make observations, and learn about how experiments work in general.
Don’t forget to save some to munch on while you learn about them.
First, look at some of these winter books to cozy up with while munching.
BOOKS ABOUT THE WINTER FOR KIDS WHO LOVE COZY LEARNING
10 Winter Books For Preschool
Here is the precious list of winter books that will have your child investigating, using their imagination, laughing,creating, and making winter memories with you.
Set in a snowy forest, the fun begins when, one by one, animals crawl into Nicki’s lost white mitten to get warm until the bear sneezes, sending the animals flying up and out of the mitten. On each turn of the page, Jan hints at what animal is coming next in her signature borders, inspired by Ukrainian folk art.
Over the snow, the world is hushed and white. But under the snow lies a secret world of squirrels and snow hares, bears and bullfrogs, and many other animals making their winter home under the snow. This beloved nonfiction picture book reveals the tunnels and caves formed beneath the snow but over the ground, where many kinds of animals live through the winter, safe and warm, awake and busy, but hidden beneath
the snow.
One by one, a whole host of different animals and birds find their way out of the cold and into Bear's cave to warm up. But even after the tea has been brewed and the corn has been popped, Bear just snores on!
See what happens when he finally wakes up and finds his cave full of uninvited guests -- all of them having a party without him!
There was a cold lady who swallowed some snow.
I don't know why she swallowed some snow.
Perhaps you know.
The old lady is swallowing everything from snow to a pipe, some coal, a hat, and more! With rollicking, rhyming text and funny illustrations, this lively version will appeal to young readers with every turn of the page. And this time, there's a surprise at the end no reader will be ble to guess!
In 1962, a little boy named Peter put on his snowsuit and stepped out of his house and into the hearts of millions of readers. Universal in its appeal, this story beautifully depicts a child's wonder at a new world, and the hope of capturing and keeping that wonder forever. The quiet fun and sweetness of Peter’s small adventures in the deep, deep snow is perfect for reading together on a cozy winter day.
B-R-R-R-R! AH-CHOO! Sneezy the Snowman is cold, cold, cold. To warm up, he drinks cocoa, sits in a hot tub, stands near a warm fire–and melts! But the children know just what to do to build him up again–and
make him feel “just right”. Hilarity chills the air with playful mixed-media illustrations by Stephen Gilpin as Sneezy attempts to warm himself with some silly results.
"As expansive as the broad sweep of the great owl's wings and as close and comforting as a small hand held on a wintry night . . . The visual images have a sense of depth and seem to invite readers into this special nighttime world."-
A favorite childrens song ("Ten on the Bed") gets a delightfully slippery, slide-y twist! In the land of the midnight sun, all the animals are having fun speeding down the hill on Caribous sled. But as they go faster and faster, Seal, Hare, Walrus, and the others all fall off . . . until just the caribous left, only and lonely. Now, a reindeer
likes flying-but never alone, so . . . all the animals leap onto the sled again! This beloved story is new in board and abridged for a preschool audience, and its ideal for reading, counting, and singing along with, over and over.
As leaves fall from their trees, animals huddle against the cold, and frost creeps across windows, everyone knows--winter is on its way!Join a brother and sister as they explore nature and take a stroll through their twinkling town, greeting all the signs of the coming season. In a series of conversations with everything from the setting sun to curious deer, they say goodbye to autumn and welcome the glorious first snow of winter.
This is a clear and appealing book for early elementary age kids, both at home and in the classroom. Introduce kids to basic science ideas as part of discussions about the seasons and animals.
Have you ever seen a butterfly in the snow? Probably not. Butterflies can't survive cold weather, so when winter comes, many butterflies fly to warmer places. They migrate. Woodchucks don't like cold weather either,
but they don't migrate; they hibernate. Woodchucks sleep in their dens all winter long. How do these and other animals handle the cold and snow of winter?
Also, look at the cool candy cane facts for kids.
Cool Candy Cane Facts
- They were first made in 1670 but didn’t make their way to American until 1847.
- Candy canes were once white, no one is sure when the red stripe was added but looking at images prior 1900, they were always white.
- The world’s largest candy cane was 63 feet tall and was created in 2011.
- Candy canes have no fat or cholesterol.
- Two billion candy canes are made each year.
- The hooks were created by hand until 1921 when a machine was invented to do it.
- The original candy cane flavor was originally used as a medicine for indigestion and nausea and then the oil was also used to help cover up the flavor of more unpleasant medicinal concoctions.
Furthermore, add some other hands-on candy cane activities.
Candy Cane Hands-on Activities
- Before you begin investigating watch How Candy Canes Are Made on YouTube.
- Here is another fun experiment you can do with candy canes Fizzing Candy Canes.
- Make some Candy Cane Paint to add some art.
- Use candy canes as counters and manipulatives for math, measure the length, grab various sizes and let your younger child arrange them in size order.
More Winter Unit Study Resources
Look at these other winter unit study resources.
- Cardinal Birds in Winter and Birch Trees Easy Watercolor Kids Activity
- Cute and Simple Snowman Story Stones Winter Art Activities
- Winter Craft Ideas How to Make Fun Pinecone Flowers
- How to Make an Adorable Toilet Roll Snowman for Winter Crafts
- Easy and Fun Pinecone Snowy Owl Winter Craft for Kindergarten
- Free Amazing Winter Unit Study and Winter Lapbook for Kids
- Easy Hands on Snowflake Winter Craft for Kids Who Don’t Have Snow
- Winter Nature Craft: How to Make Easy DIY Bird Feeders
- 3 Fun Cocoa Winter Hands on Science Activities
- How to Make an Easy Build a Snowman Kid’s Game (free printable cube)
Now, let’s have some candy cane fun.
For these two winter science activities, you’ll want to grab the supplies below.
Two Candy Cane Science Activities
Here are all the supplies you will need to gather so that you can complete both experiments:
- Mini Candy Canes
- Clear bowls or cups
- 3-5 liquids-water, sprite, milk, vinegar, etc
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- paper/pen
Now, let’s make this first one which is bending candy canes.
1. Bending Candy Canes Science Activity
For the first experiment we are first going to let your child attempt to bend a candy cane fresh out of the package, it just breaks right? Ask them why they think that is? How were candy makers able to bend it in the first place?
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Spread out several candy canes on parchment lined sheet.
Bake for 7-10 minutes. Start checking at 7 minutes because you want to pull them out before they begin to distort and melt.
Immediately remove parchment paper from pan and place on a flat surface away from the hot pan.
Your child can immediately pick them up and begin bending them into shapes.
You can make letters, shapes like hearts or knots, or even a cute little candy can make like this one.
You’re just a couple of minutes the candy cane will harden again into its new shape.
You can repeat the process in the oven with candy canes after they’ve hardened or with fresh ones to continue experimenting with what you can do.
2. Melting Candy Canes
Now we are going to test and see which liquid melts candy canes the fastest.
So, you will want to check this one often. We put ours in the bowls and forgot for about 45 minutes and came back to this.
First, choose your liquids, I would suggest no less than 3 to get a good reading and probably not more than 6 to keep it manageable.
Whatever number you choose to test, place that many clear bowls or cups on a surface where they will not be disturbed. Add a mini candy cane to each.
Measure exact amounts of each of the liquids and pour over the candy cane.
This is a good time to explain that when conduction an experiment like this you want to keep everything the same except for the one variable that you are testing, in this case the type of liquid.
Write each of the liquids onto a small slip of paper and place it in front of each container to keep track.
Check after 5 minutes to see how much they have dissolved; these ones were noticeably smaller.
After the first 5 minutes you want to change to every minute or two because it seems to go so much faster after that.
At less than the 10-minute mark we had a clear winner when we came back, and the vinegar had completely dissolved it.
Be sure to have your child record their guesses (hypothesis), then list the types of liquids (variables), and finally their results.
