3 Icky, Creepy, Plain Gross Science Projects to Try

If you're kids are like mine, the grossest, ickiest, and creepiest projects are the BEST! My kids just love getting their hands into goo and ick ... we are going to try these projects and have fun while doing it...and of course...learn something along the way as well :o)

1. Snot Now
What it teaches: One way the body fights off bacteria and filters the air we breathe; measuring
What to do: Have each student dissolve 1/8 cup of borax in two cups of warm water. In another container, have students stir together two teaspoons of glue gel and three teaspoons of water. (White glue will work too, but the gel makes the snot more slimy.) Add a few drops of green and yellow food dye and stir. Pour mixtures into a baggie, seal, and then squish the mixtures together. Remove snot from baggie. After the kids are done playing with the snot, have them blow dust across the surface of it. This will show how nasal mucus filters air debris and makes boogers. Remind the students they should wash their hands after handling any kind of snot—real or fake!

2. Rubber Egg
What it teaches: Chemical reactions; parts of an egg; observation skills
What to do: Place a raw egg into a glass jar and cover with white vinegar. Place a lid on the jar and let the egg and vinegar sit for a day. The next day, pour out the vinegar and add fresh vinegar to the jar. Seal again and don’t disturb for one week. Then, pour out the vinegar and carefully rinse the egg under cold water. The egg’s shell should be gone, worn away from the vinegar’s acid. (Note: Do not eat the egg—not that you’d have any interest!) Variation: Follow the directions above, only use a hard-boiled egg. The egg will bounce.

3. Have Germs, Will Travel
What it teaches: How germs are spread through physical contact
What to do: Have students sit in a circle while you rub a piece of sidewalk chalk all over your hands. (Inexpensive, colored chalk works best for this experiment because it creates more dust.) The dust represents germs. Once your hands are covered in chalk, begin walking around the circle, shaking hands randomly. See how many students catch the “germs.” Variation: Invite each student to cover his or her hands in chalk dust. Next, have students sit at their desks and do a simple task. After they have seen firsthand (pun intended!) just how easily germs can be transferred, have them clean their space and wash up.

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