Exploring Solutions with the Skittles Experiment

Next Generation Science

In this engaging hands-on science demonstration, a young host explores the concepts of dissolving and solutions using simple household items: water, sugar cubes, and Skittles candy. The video breaks down the invisible process of how water molecules interact with solid substances, explaining that when something dissolves, it breaks into tiny particles that spread evenly throughout the liquid rather than disappearing completely. Key scientific themes include the properties of matter, mixtures versus solutions, and the molecular interaction between solvents (water) and solutes (sugar). The video visually demonstrates these abstract concepts through two distinct experiments: a sugar cube dissolving in a beaker to define a "solution," and the popular "Skittles Rainbow" experiment which allows students to visualize the movement of dissolved sugar and dye. This video is an excellent resource for elementary science classrooms as it provides a clear, safe, and visually stimulating introduction to chemistry. Teachers can use it to introduce the scientific method, encourage prediction and observation, or as a setup for a classroom lab where students test variables such as water temperature or different types of candy to see how they affect the rate of dissolving.