Science Sunday: Reincarnating Raisins

During this past week's Magic Science class,
my 3rd-5th graders and I
brought raisins
BACK TO LIFE...

MWAHAHAHAHA!

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In all seriousness,
we performed a simple experiment
that showed the "power" of carbon dioxide...

All you need for this "trick" is a
bottle of club soda and some raisins.

Open up the soda and put some raisins in it...

...and wait a few seconds...

...to behold some of the raisins
rising back up to the surface.

Their shimming movements may remind you of...
...some other famous raisins...

(Click HERE if you are too young to know
who the California Raisins were...)

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The scientific explanation for this movement?

The irregular surfaces of the raisins hold some
carbon dioxide in the soda. When enough bubbles
accumulate, they lift the wrinkly raisins
to the surface of the soda.

When enough bubbles pop,
the raisins sink back down further into the soda,
causing them to
"come back to life!"

(You can download the journaling sheet
we used for this experiment
by clicking HERE.)

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A "second part" to this experiment
is to leave the raisins in the soda over night...

...and you will get "grapes" again!

Raisins ARE just dried up grapes, after all...

Guess you really CAN bring them
"back to life"... :0)

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For more fun with Science,
head on over to
Science Sunday...