Two Toothy Eggsperiments

I love science in the classroom and always take every opportunity to do fun experiments with the children.  Today's 2 experiments have to do with our teeth and how the things we eat and drink affect them.  Below are the items we are using for the experiments.

We'll be using eggs for this experiment.  4 boiled eggs and one raw egg should do the trick.  Take two boiled eggs and put them in a small clear cups and cover them with a dark soda, coke or pepsi will suffice.  We will cover the other two with coffee or tea, your choice.  The eggs will sit in these drinks all day and then overnight and the children can check on them periodically. 

For the raw egg we also put it in a clear cup but poured vinegar over it and let it sit overnight. 

As for discussion we talk about what the drinks and the vinegar might do to the hard white shell of the eggs.  The eggs were stained within 5 minutes but had a much deeper stain the next morning. The initial thought of the children were that the drinks were going to somehow crack the eggs.  I guess we shall see.

Here's what happened to the eggs in the soft drink. The took on a deep yellow brown colored stain.  The eggs in coffee were not quite as brown but still had a nice deep yellow stain.  We talked about how soft drinks and coffee and tea affected the egg shell and how they can affect our teeth.

We used toothbrushes and toothpaste to clean the eggs by using the following at our sensory table.  The children couldn't wait to get their turn!

As for the raw egg in the vinegar.  The vinegar dissolved the whole shell over night and here's what it looked like.  The kids were amazed!

It was very soft and squishy (the kids words) and almost transparent.

We all took turns squishing it gently to feel the difference between the hard shelled egg we put in yesterday and the shellless egg we took out of the vinegar today. 

The egg also expanded in size compared to the two boiled eggs that spent the night in the coffee and soft drink.  Very Interesting.

So all of that and what did we actually learn?

• Coffee and softs drinks stained egg shells and they will also stain our teeth.
• Brushing with toothpaste can help remove stains from eggshells (teeth).
• Boys and girls should not drink soda (that came from the children after the experiment)
• Taking care of our teeth is important so they don't get soft and mushy with cavities (again, this is the kids words).
• Coffee and soda make your teeth turn yellow (kids again)

As far as the egg in vinegar we discussed that if we do not brush our teeth that the pieces of food that stay in our mouths mix with bacteria and make a slimy stuff called plaque.  Plaque will build up on our teeth and start eating away at them like the vinegar ate the egg shell.  We will get cavities, which are little holes in our teeth. 

The children know we can protect our teeth by flossing (we practiced that), brushing and eating healthy foods and drinks and going to the dentist regularly.