My kids are do-ers. They don’t stop moving, exploring, and learning, even after mom is totally done for the day and wants nothing more than to veg out in front of the TV. On those days, we use simple and fun STEM activities to help the kids stay happy and feel successful, while I get a win because I’m the “coolest mom ever”! This Fall STEM activity is a fun way to mix science and the fall season. My kiddos love science and hands-on activities, so we often turn to science at home to peak their interested and let them move while still engaging in learning activities. In this fall STEM activity, kids will learn how to prevent apples from oxidizing.
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Prevent Apples from Oxidizing Fall STEM Activity
You’ll need a few supplies before starting this Fall STEM Activity:
- Apples
- Small jars or cups
- Several liquids: milk, water, soda, vinegar, lemon juice, oil, etc.
Before starting, talk about why apples turn brown with the kids. Apples turn brown because when oxygen reacts with the chemicals in the apples, the polyphenol oxidase enzyme in the apples react with the oxygen in the air, turning the apples a brownish color. If you add protection to the apples, they won’t turn brown.
Set out as many cups as you have liquids. We tried oil, milk, water, air, vinegar, and coke.
Put one apple slice in each cup. Wait for a few hours and see what happens.
After our experiment was over, we saw that for our apples, milk offered the best protection, which we did not expect.
Vinegar was the worst at keeping the apples from turning brown, but my kids hypothesized that the brown vinegar also soaked into the apple, perhaps skewing the results of that test.
Try this experiment with multiple types of apples and see if every apple has the same results.
Looking for more STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) projects and inspiration?
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