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Make Popcorn Kernels Dance!

  • Sara Thompson
  • Dec 1, 2023
  • 2 min read

By Sara Thompson

"Bubbles surrounding popcorn kernels" by Green Kid Crafts

Special to the Enterprise


In this home experiment, you will be adding a few simple ingredients to make popcorn kernels move and dance.


Supplies: tray, clear cup or jar, popcorn kernels, water, ½ C. vinegar, and 1 Tablespoon of baking soda


Instructions: This experiment can be messy, so a tray can help contain the mess and make for easy cleanup. Cover the bottom of your cup or jar with un-popped, popcorn kernels, add water to cover the kernels. Then add the ½ cup of vinegar, you want to cup to be around half full. Let the solution settle for a minute, observe if anything is happening yet. Next, you will add the 1 Tablespoon of baking soda all at once to the cup. There will be an immediate reaction, which might spill over the top of the glass onto the tray. Watch what happens to the popcorn kernels!


When you add baking soda to vinegar, they generate carbon dioxide gas. The gas will attach to the kernels and cause them to rise. As the gas bubbles pop at the surface, the kernels will sink back down. This up and down motion makes the popcorn kernels appear to be dancing in the liquid contained in the glass. Even though these are common household items, eating is not recommended after the experiment.


Other variations: As fun as this experiment is, there are other household materials you can try too. Test it again with lemon juice, cooking oil, just water, citric acid, alka-seltzer, baking powder, etc. Make predictions, check results, and make it a fun filled day of science!


Explorit's coming events:

• You are cordially invited to Teddy Bear Tea at Explorit. Saturday, Dec. 9 at 1pm. Bring your favorite teddy bear or stuffed animal and enjoy a fun-filled time of tea, treats, and bear-themed activities. Registration is $10 and can be reserved from our homepage at https://www.explorit.org/. Children must be accompanied by a registered adult. It will be a ‘beary’ good time!


• Explorit is open Fridays from 1-4pm and Saturday and Sundays from 10am-2pm. The current exhibit is “Our WILD World”. Admission is $5 per person, free for Explorit Members and those aged 2 and under.


• Give the Gift of Science this holiday season. A Membership to Explorit grants the recipient free visits to Explorit’s regular public hours, discounts on events, summer camps and workshops, and gives you ASTC benefits to visit other museums throughout the world. To purchase or for more information visit https://www.explorit.org/membership or call Explorit at 530-756-0191.


• Winter Break Extended Hours: Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 27-28, open from 10am-2pm; Friday, Dec. 29, open from 10am-4pm. Tuesday-Thursday, Jan. 2-4, open from 10am-2pm; Friday, Jan. 5, open from 10am-4pm.


• Registration now open for Explorit Winter Camp, January 3-5, 2024. Grades K-2 from 9am-12pm, grades 3-5 from 1-4pm. Registration fee is $115 for Members/$130 for Non-Members.



• Think of Explorit for you end of year giving and help us continue to educate and inspire the scientists of tomorrow: https://www.explorit.org/donate


 
 
 

16 Comments


Eric
Eric
Jun 19

This "Dancing Popcorn Kernels" experiment sounds absolutely delightful and accessible! It's fantastic how it uses common household items to demonstrate such clear scientific principles. I especially appreciate the suggestions for variations; those will definitely extend the fun and learning. For more innovative and fun experiences, perhaps check out Change Clothes in photos!

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Eric
Eric
Jun 19

This "dancing popcorn" experiment sounds like so much fun for a snowy afternoon! I love how simple ingredients create such a captivating scientific display. The idea of trying other materials like lemon juice adds a great educational twist. For more amazing content, you should definitely check out HD Photo Converter Online!

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Eric
Eric
Jun 19

This "Dancing Popcorn Kernels" experiment sounds like a fantastic way to engage kids with science using everyday items! I appreciate the clear instructions and the scientific explanation. It's awesome how simple reactions can create such captivating visual effects. For more engaging content, I always recommend checking out AI Cleaner Text.

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riley.lewis
Jun 17

The patents sound impressive, but I’m always more interested in the operational reality: how quickly can a venue actually respond to an alert, and do you see “alert fatigue” once staff gets used to constant threshold pings? Also, anonymity is a spectrum — even if you’re not identifying faces, people still worry about cameras, so the comms piece matters as much as the model. This kind of “make it actionable, not just accurate” vibe reminded me of StyleLookLab where the output only helps if it translates into something people can do right away. Would love to hear how you validate accuracy during peak surges.

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riley.lewis
Jun 17

Interesting that you’re leaning so hard on “integrates into existing infrastructure” — that’s usually where projects live or die, especially in older venues with weird camera placements. I also wonder how you handle edge cases like staff with lanyards clustering at choke points, since that can throw off “queue” vs. “massing” behavior. Side note: imgg randomly reminded me how much better AI tools feel when they’re explicit about what they’re doing and what data they keep. Curious if your dashboards show confidence levels or just a single number.

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