This is a simple water displacement science experiment for preschool, preK, and kindergarten ages kids to participate in.
One could tell the story of The Thirsty Crow as an extension to this activity too.
Water Displacement Science Experiment
Supplies Needed:
- A clear glass/jar
- Marker
- Candy that will sink (we used one 125g packet of jelly beans)
- Water
Add water to the glass and mark the water level with the marker:
We started with counting out 10 jelly beans and added it to the glass. Not much happened, so we added another 10 jelly beans. I asked questions like:
- What do you see?
- What is happening?
- Can you see the difference?
- What do you think is happening?
At first my 5 year old thought the line moved(lol), but after explaining the concept of water displacement, she realized what was happening.
Then, we added the whole bag of jelly beans and the difference in the water level was significant:
This was a fun visual science experiment even my 2,5 year old enjoyed watching, although he won't understand the reason yet.
Extension Activities
One could change up the item you add to the glass and make predictions and comparisons too. For example:
- How many jelly beans did we use to get the water to that level?
- Then use bigger candy and guess how many you will need to get to the same water level. Do the experiment and see!
- Why do you need less of a bigger candy? A bigger candy take up more space and therefor pushes the water up quicker.
- For older kids, one can add a mathematical extension to the experiment. For example: make a graph recording how many jelly beans you throw in and then measuring the difference in the water levels.
More fun candy experiments you should try:
Nadia is South African mom to two littlies, a former preschool teacher and currently working as a reading therapist at a remedial school. She blogs over at Teach Me Mommy about easy and playful activities inspiring you to be your child's first teacher. Follow along on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter. 
