Sunshiney Fun

A sunny summer day is the perfect time to show your child how the sun's heat causes change.

What you need:

  • 4 teaspoons of chocolate chips
  • 2 plastic sandwich bags

 

What you do: 

  1. Put two teaspoons of chocolate chips in each sandwich bag. Seal the bags shut.
  2. Place one bag in the warm summer sun and the other in a cool, dark place.
  3. Have your child check the bags every 10 minutes until the chips in one bag have changed. 

 

What you talk about:

Ask your child:

  • What happened to the two bags of chocolate chips? (The chips in the warm sunlight melted/turned to liquid. The other chips stayed the same.)
  • What do you think caused the chips to change? (Heat from the sun)
  • For older children: What do you think would happen if you did this experiment with ice cubes instead of chocolate chips? (The ice cubes in the sun would melt first because they got more heat, but the other ice cubes would eventually melt from the heat in the room.)

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