New Year’s Day Kids’ Kitchen Science

Egg recipe

It’s New Year’s Day and you’ve volunteered to whip up a special holiday brunch – for the entire family! Get the kids in on the act and turn some of your meal prep into super science activities. How? Check out these kitchen science ideas that also help you to prep for your holiday meal.

Grand Glittering Gelatin

Help your child to learn about states of matter, while transforming liquid into wiggly gelatin. Start by asking your child what she thinks will happen when you add the water to the powder. Then ask her to predict what will happen when you chill the liquid. Check back often to observe what’s going on with the gelatin. How can you make the gelatin into a New Year’s Day-themed treat? Think sparkling – like faux champagne. Start with a yellow gelatin and add coarse sugar crystals. Cut the gelled product into cubes and coat the tops (or tops and sides) with gold sugar crystals.

Awesome Eggs

Explore egg science and talk about where eggs come from (biology) and what they’re made of (nutrition). Add scrambled eggs to your New Year’s brunch, and let your child help you stir them before you do the cooking. Ask your child to tell you what the eggs look like raw (clear-whitish and yellow). Then ask her to tell you what she sees after they’re cooked (yellow).

Batter Up

Have your child help you to measure and mix batter for pancakes, waffles or biscuits. Talk about the measurements (use measuring cups) and ask her to predict what will happen to the thick liquid when you cook it. Talk about the finished product, and why the batter becomes solid. You can even add in chocolate chips or berries, and have your child decide whether they’ll melt or not.