A Science Project to Change Your Luck- Fun, Fast and Magically Delicious

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and a great time to use science to change your luck.  It’s also a great time to demonstrate that science projects and scientific thinking can be fun, easy and useful, everyday.  Unfortunately, many kids, especially girls, start to lose interest in science as early as third grade and high school students view science projects  as a synonym for stress, anxiety, and frustration.   I wanted my kids to view science projects as interesting and pleasurable and most importantly fun.  Breakfast science- quick science projects that can be completed long before lunch.

Experiment

2 MEGA size boxes of Lucky Charms cereal ,Kitchen scale that measures in grams, Thin paper plates

Bowls, spoons &Milk 

Cereal box display board (reusable)

Construction paper, Labels, Glue sticks

Paper cutter - optional but highly recommended

Lucky Charms cereal is a great start for breakfast science.  What is the ratio of oat pieces to marshmallows?  Are the types of marshmallows equally represented?  What is the most common type of marshmallow?  Do the marshmallows each have a different flavor? Which has a greater density: the  oat pieces or marshmallows? Does the type of milk affect the dissolving time of the marshmallows? Does shaking the box affect the number of marshmallows per serving?   

 The Lucky Charm website (https://www.luckycharms.com) also has more than thirty family activities, including several STEM activities that would be perfect breakfast projects.  Does the shape of a balloon rocket affect the distance it travels? Do the marshmallows dissolve quicker in milk or water? Can you build a leprechaun trap? 

There are lots of possible project ideas in a box of Lucky Charms. Here is our breakfast science project.

Does shaking the box affect the number of marshmallows per serving?  

Scientists always research a topic before developing a hypothesis.  Breakfast science should include research, however multiple cross referenced sources aren’t necessary. A few facts and some observations will suffice.  Did you know that Lucky Charms have been produced for 50 years?  It is gluten free. The marshmallows are actually marbits….a quick search of Lucky charm cereal produces  about 3,940,000 results  in 0.65 seconds.  Read the box- “marshmallow shapes and colors may vary, sold by weight, not volume, about 23 serving per box” Carefully open each box and remove the bag of cereal. Research can be observational.

IF the box of Lucky Charms is shaken before being poured into the bowl THEN each serving will have about the same number of marshmallows BECAUSE when the cereal is observed there are more marshmallows at the top of the bag compared to the bottom of the bag.

An IF-THEN- BECAUSE hypothesis helps to clarify what we think will happen in the experiment.

1. Carefully open two MEGA size boxes of Lucky Charms
2. Remove inner bags, observe then carefully put back into boxes
3. Use scissors to cut one corner off each bag (make them the same size)
4. Use a clothespin to seal each bag
5. Label one box CONTROL, this box will not be shaken
6. Label the other box, test
7. Put a small paper plate on the scale, tare the scale
8. Pour 36 grams (one serving) from the control box
9. Count the marshmallows, write down the number of marshmallows
10. Do steps 7 to 9, five times, find the average number of marshmallows
11. Shake the test box, rotate, flip, shake up and down for 10 seconds
12. Do steps 7-10 for the TEST box

Index cards are perfect for quick breakfast projects. If your family prefers digital, it is easy to manipulate the data in excel or google spread sheet to calculate the averages or see the data in graph form. If you are not familiar with the graphing features an excellent and easy to use graphing site for kids is https://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/.

Both the control bowls and the shaken bowls had marshmallows in every bowl.  However, the range in the control was 23 marshmallows and the range of the shaken servings was 6 marshmallows.  The number of marshmallows in the control bowls declined towards the end of the box. The first pour of the control bowl had 30 marbits and the final bowl had 24.  The shaken bowls were consistent, in fact the final bowl had 26 marbits compared to the first bowl which had 24.

The hypothesis IF the box of Lucky Charms is shaken before being poured into the bowl THEN each serving will have about the same number of marshmallows BECAUSE when the cereal is observed there are more marshmallows at the top of the bag compared to the bottom of the bag was supported. In conclusion, shaking the box results in about the same number of marshmallows per serving.  Shaking the box is also fun, so change your luck, shake the box.  Science projects should be able to be repeated, so grab two MEGA size boxes of Lucky charms and try it.

An important part of a science project is sharing your findings.  The classic tri-fold board is a hallmark of science fairs.  Breakfast science projects should be shared too, just on a smaller scale.  A cereal box scale.

Carefully open and flatten the box. Then cut off one large side and the top taps. You will now have a classic trifold board- just smaller. (A lot smaller)

Cut construct paper mats for the information. I like the look of double matting. It also provides twice as many opportunities to use the paper cutter. Seriously, if you want your kids to love doing science projects invest in a paper cutter. Kids can be taught to safely use a paper cutter and in 32 years of teaching it has always been the highlight of creating display boards.

Use labels to create the headings. Address labels are the perfect size.

Wait until you have all of the pieces completed before you glue. Add the DUCk tape Dry Erase tape so the board is reusable.

The idea of breakfast science is to be able to do quick projects that are fun. Doing projects as a family is a great way to connect. So enjoy those MEGA size boxes of Lucky charms, then wipe of the display board and cruise the grocery aisles for your next project. Check out the Instructable Calculate Pi by Throwing Sausages By snowbiscuit in LivingEducation.