Club SciKidz Maryland

Where Science and Technology Connect!

Where Science and Technology Connect!

Club SciKidz Maryland | 443-561-4000 | 267-250-0172

sciencecamps@clubscikidzmd.com
Tax ID number: 27-3857278

Friend me on Facebookinstagram

  • Home
  • About Us
    • Our Great Staff
    • The Shelby Jean Scholarship
    • Buddy Scholarship
    • Parent Testimonials
  • Programs
    • School Day, Days Off School & School Break Programs
    • Science & Technology After School Programs
      • In-Person After School Programs Location Schedule
      • Virtual Programs & Events
    • All Summer Camp Locations & Schedules
      • Club SciKidz Summer Camps – Ages 4 to 5
      • Club SciKidz Summer Camps – Ages 6 to 8
      • Club SciKidz Summer Camps – Ages 9 to 12
      • TechScientific Summer Camps – Ages 11 to 15
    • Science Shows & Assemblies
    • In-School Field Trips
  • Family Login
  • Enroll
  • Your Questions Answered
  • Join Our Team!
  • Blog
  • Photos
  • Contact Us

Experiment: Shiny Pennies

January 6, 2013 by Club SciKidz/TechScientific

blogPenny

You will need to assemble the following:

  • A few old pennies that are not shiny any more
  • 1/4 cup of white vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • A glass or plastic bowl (not metal)
  • Some paper towels

Here’s what to do:

  • Pour vinegar into your bowl and stir in the salt
  • Then put some pennies into the bowl
  • Count to ten slowly
  • Remove the pennies and rinse in water
  • Look at how they shine!

How does it work?
Well, vinegar is an acid, and it reacts with the salt to remove what chemists call copper oxide (the stuff that makes your pennies dull).

But there’s more you can do!  
Add more pennies to your bowl and count slowly to ten again.  When you remove them, don’t rinse them off.  Just put them on paper towels to dry.  Shortly, the pennies will turn blue/green as something called malachite forms on the pennies.

There’s even more!
Put a few nuts and bolts in the vinegar and watch them carefully; they may turn copper in color.  The vinegar will remove copper from the pennies and if there’s enough of it in the vinegar — the copper will become attracted  to the metal in the nuts and bolts!

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Print
  • More
  • Reddit
  • LinkedIn
  • Pocket
  • Pinterest
  • Skype
  • Tumblr

Filed Under: Experiment of the Month, Experiments

Subscribe to Our Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

4-5-Year-olds-300x200

Summer Camps – Ages 3.5-5 (preK-K)

Summer Camps in Maryland - Ages 6-8

Summer Camps – Ages 6-8 (Gr 1st-3rd)

Maryland Summer Camps - Ages 12-15

Summer Camps – Ages 11-15 (Gr 5th-9th)

Recent Posts

  • Get outside: Winter Scavenger Hunt
  • Virtual Mommy & Me Programs
  • Club SciKidz MD Virtual Classes & Programming are here!
  • Monday 5/18: Daily Activities Announcement
  • Friday 5/15: Outdoor Science, Day #5: Fresh Water Ecosystems

Join Our Mailing List

Stay up to date on everything happening at Club SciKidz.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to our science blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Visit Our Science Blog »

Countdown to Summer Camp!

Summer Camp Begins June 14, 2021
4 months to go.

Search the Site

Stay Connected

Friend me on Facebookinstagramsocial-media-icon-twitter

©2007 – 2021 Club SciKidz, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Enroll | Family Login | Site Map | Contact