I was a bit concerned when I read the words: naked egg.
I thought I’d be peeling off layers of egg shell with my kids all while calling it an experiment. But, I was wrong! This fantastic science experiment for kids is easy to set up and SO much fun to watch. All you need are two things from your kitchen and you’ll be ready to start the naked egg experiment!
In my house, we love simple science experiments.
When we got our hands on a copy of 101 Kids Activities book (<—affiliate link – no extra charge for you, but supports this blog, thank you!!) by my mentors Holly Homer and Rachel Miller, I turned right to the science section! My four-year-old, however, had different plans. She started from the beginning of the book and flipped through every page until the end. My daughter has been asking where the book is with, “where is that AMAZING-IST book for kids!” <—so cute!
After a lot of deliberating, we decided to try the naked egg experiment that I have been dying to try. And, it was SO awesome!
Materials for Naked Egg Experiment
- Eggs
- Vinegar
- Bowl
I couldn’t believe how simple this was to set up. Essentially, you cover eggs with vinegar and wait for days as you watch the egg shell peel away from the reaction with the vinegar. The end result is a “naked” (no-shell) egg that feels slimy and squishy to touch! We put our bowl on our light table so that we could really watch the reaction and observe the eggs.
My one-year-old had to get his hands on the finished product, too! But, as Holly and Rachel warn, these eggs are extremely delicate and my son burst his egg open shortly after this photo. My husband and I were ready for the risk and rushed him to a warm bath while I cleaned up the kitchen floor.
For us, the clean up was worth that sweet face and exploration of the naked egg. (Yes, we were worried about salmonella and not only sanitized the floors immediately, but washed all of our hands thoroughly, too – just to be safe :)).
What’s amazing about this book is that we only scratched the surface. As a blogger and former preschool teacher, I was shocked with how many activities I hadn’t seen before. This is a great book to leave with a babysitter or at grandma’s and grandpa’s house, but I know that you will adore this book, too! It is packed full of simple, fun activities for kids <—what could be better than that?!
If you love this science experiment for kids, hop on over to our Facebook page and tell me what you love to do with your kids!! I can’t wait to hear what you’re up to 🙂
Syafinaz Ali says
What a brilliant idea.Just love it.Thumbs up mommy.I will try this with my lil daughter too
Katie Joiner says
I hope you have fun!! -Katie 🙂
Laura M. says
I love this experiment! so much fun! You didn’t really need to worry about Salmonella – the vinegar is an acid and pretty much killed any organisms that would have been on the egg. You can take it to the next level and next time move the peeled eggs into different concentrated solutions and have the kids make predictions as to what will happen to the eggs – get bigger, get smaller, etc.
Katie Joiner says
Yes, thank you Laura! My husband and I thought that salmonella wasn’t an issue because of the vinegar, but I would never want to put a reader at risk, just in case! 🙂