How many Peeps did your kids (or maybe, you?) inhale over Easter? Don’t eat them all! Set up a little water science activity with some of the Peeps! Your dentist will thank me for this! Just some simple supplies from around the house is all you need to keep your littles one sugar-free, occupied and sticky.
Here’s what you need to get started:
- Bin of water
- Different materials for sails (We used: felt, foam, construction paper and cardstock)
Cut out triangle shaped sails out of the different materials. My older superheroes were able to do this on their own, but for the tots in my class, I cut them ahead of time.
Attach a sail to the toothpick with the tape.
Now it’s time to test the different sails by placing them in the water. We used small bins, but it would be fun to do in a water table or a small plastic wading pool.
They started blowing on the sails to see how they move
Some tipped over, others moved quickly, and one barely moved.
They raced with each other.
We also noticed that the combination of blue and yellow Peeps in the water turned it green!
The science behind the activity:
There is plenty of room for experimentation with this activity
- Which of the materials make the best sails?
- Which spot is the best place to insert the sail? Do some spots make the boat tip over easier than others?
- How does the wind affect the movement of the boat?
- Why do the Peeps float?
- Might different shapes of sails affect the movement of the boat?
- Try different types of Peeps (Bunnies vs. Chicks) How do the different shapes of the Peeps affect their movement and the placement of the sails?
In a larger container of water, races are fun and a discussion of which boats floated the farthest or fastest involves plenty of critical thinking.
For more details and to see where I got my Peep-y idea from, please visit: http://www.kidsplaybox.com/science-for-kids-easter-science-with-peeps-boats/
Check out my other science activity using Peeps: Dissolving Peeps Experiment