by Rachel Wells
This time of the year you most likely have a lot of candy canes laying around. Ever thought about using those sweet treats for science? This bending candy canes experiment may look like magic, but it’s purely a science experiment about loosening sugar bonds, melting points, and engineering designs that don’t break once hardened.
This activity is super simple and a ton of fun – definitely one your kids will want to do again and again!
Supplies Needed:
- Candy canes
- Oven
- Parchment paper
- Cookie sheet
- Latex gloves (optional but encouraged!)
Step-by-step:
- Unwrap the candy canes.
- Place a few candy canes on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper at 250 degrees for 5-7 minutes. These cool quickly, so you will only want to make a few to play with at a time, and then put a new batch in when you’re ready to make more.
- Take the candy canes out of the oven and get ready to bend, mold, and create. These will be extremely hot, so you need to be careful or use latex gloves to handle. It helps to touch them in quick increments so your fingers don’t get too hot while molding.
- Challenge your child to make twists, letters, pretzel shapes, their name…. the sky’s the limit.
After your new candy cane creations cool you can still toss them into a hot chocolate or enjoy as a fun shaped treat!
