Social Distance Learning Project: Dancing Raisins

Kids (and let’s face it, adults too!) get a huge kick out of this experiment. It’s really cool to see the bubbles attach to the raisins and lift them up. Pro tip: stream music from your phone so that EVERYONE can dance along with the raisins!

Video Tutorial: dancing raisins video

YOU’LL NEED:

Just 2 things: club soda or any clear soda like Sprite or 7-Up, and some fresh raisins

DIRECTIONS:

1. Fill a clear glass with soda.

2. Drop a few raisins into the glass. Make sure you separate the raisins. If they are stuck together this experiment won’t work.

3. Patiently wait and see what happens. It may take a minute or two to get them to dance!

THE SCIENCE BEHIND IT:

When you first drop the raisins in the soda, they sink to the bottom of the glass because they are more dense than the soda. But the carbonated soda releases carbon dioxide bubbles and these bubbles love to attach to the rough surface of the raisins. They act like tiny floatation devices that lift the raisin to the surface of the water. This is due to an increase in buoyancy.

Once the carbon dioxide bubbles reach the surface of the soda they pop and the gas is released into the air. This makes the raisin lose buoyancy and fall back down to the bottom of the glass. This continues until all of the carbon dioxide has escaped and the soda is flat.

EXTEND THE LEARNING:

Try this activity using different kinds of soda and see which one works best. Alternatively, try adding different things to the soda. Some popular options are pieces of uncooked pasta, corn kernels, and lentils. Let us know your results!

Sponsored by National Grid.