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Monday 3/16: Clean that Penny!

March 16, 2020 by Club SciKidz MD

Welcome to our first daily activity!

We are so excited that you are joining us! Today we will be using the scientific method as we experiment to see which kitchen ingredient will have the biggest effect on a dirty penny. We’ll start by learning a little about the penny and what happens to copper when it is exposed to oxygen and the elements. And this will lead us to even learn a little about the Statue of Liberty! We’ll then get into the experiment.

Are you ready to get started? We are! Let’s get started!

A note to moms, dads & supervising adults: Some of these links go to YouTube. As long as they watch on the webpage, it won’t go to YouTube. Please make sure to monitor your kids as they are watching the attached videos. Things labeled “Primary” is best for grades Kindergarten through 3rd, and things labeled “Intermediate” are best for grades 3rd and above, but you know your kiddos best.

Coins (Primary)

 

Facts You Didn’t Know about the Penny (Intermediate)

 

Pennies can turn green. This is caused by oxidation. Learn all about oxidation below.

(Primary &Intermediate)

All About the Statue of Liberty (Primary &Intermediate)

 

Time for the experiment!

Alright, it is time for the experiment. The video will go through everything you need and the steps. As a heads up, you’ll need: dirty pennies, small cups or bowls, ketchup, mustard, vinegar, soda, paper towels.

 

 

Filed Under: "March Break" Resources & Activities

Comments

  1. Alisha says

    March 16, 2020 at 4:21 pm

    My daughter really enjoyed this! Looking forward to more lessons.

  2. Kristi says

    March 16, 2020 at 4:54 pm

    My 3 kids enjoyed this experiment and were surprised by their results.

  3. Spencer C says

    March 16, 2020 at 6:26 pm

    We used ketchup, mustard, vinegar, soda, and salt water. Only ketchup worked.

    • Victor Bowman says

      March 16, 2020 at 7:38 pm

      Why do you think the ketchup had more of an effect than the others?

  4. greenbeanzz says

    March 16, 2020 at 7:05 pm

    super fun experiment! thank you!

  5. Suzanna Duffy says

    March 17, 2020 at 8:25 am

    Great experiment! My son really liked it. Looking forward to more.

  6. Heather Temple says

    March 17, 2020 at 10:55 am

    This was great! My niece loved it. Even made a little video after of her findings. Kept her busy for hours! Thank you!

    • Club SciKidz MD says

      March 17, 2020 at 11:35 am

      So excited to hear! For the weekend we are coming up with an open-ended engineering design challenge. Stay tuned!

  7. Amanda E says

    March 17, 2020 at 1:34 pm

    We tried all of yours but added tabasco sauce. It worked great!

    • Club SciKidz MD says

      March 17, 2020 at 2:25 pm

      What a great way to extend! Thanks for sharing your results.

  8. Jocelyn says

    March 17, 2020 at 1:47 pm

    I love the inspiration

  9. Lisa Cornejo says

    March 17, 2020 at 2:10 pm

    This was so much fun for my girls (ages 4 and 6)! Ketchup worked the best for us. By the way, miss you Gibble!!

    • Club SciKidz MD says

      March 17, 2020 at 2:20 pm

      Awww… So glad you guys enjoyed! Be sure to try today’s– it’s a colorful fun!

  10. Amy and Emma says

    March 17, 2020 at 3:15 pm

    Ketchup worked the best for us. Vinegar, mustard, and syrup were ok Soda didn’t really work at all. Could you post an explanation for us? We would like to know why!

    • Club SciKidz MD says

      March 17, 2020 at 3:45 pm

      Vinegar is known to be a good natural cleaner and deodorizer because it is acidic. It can counteract and dissolve dirty build ups and grime. Specifically for this experiment, the acid helps breakdown the copper oxide. And whether you know it or not, vinegar is a main ingredient in both mustard and ketchup. Now, the reason ketchup usually has the biggest effect on dirty pennies is that it not only contains vinegar, but tomatoes, which are acidic themselves. Ketchup also contains salt which aids in the breaking down of copper oxide. As far as soda goes, it’s just really sugar water, so it generally doesn’t do much. Kids often think that the “bubbles” will help clean the penny, but it generally doesn’t. Now, I do have to give the disclaimer that it does depend on how dirty your pennies were when they went in and also “what kind of dirt”. But generally, ketchup has the best results.

      • Amy and Emma says

        March 18, 2020 at 3:12 pm

        Thank you! This was very interesting. Now we’re going to do the next experiment.

  11. Amaya says

    March 17, 2020 at 3:28 pm

    We loved it thanks so much!

    • Club SciKidz MD says

      March 17, 2020 at 3:45 pm

      So happy to hear! Be sure to check out today’s!

  12. C Roeter says

    March 17, 2020 at 5:12 pm

    My kids loved this experiment! We got a lot of varied results, but the Pepsi and orange juice did the best job cleaning. Looking forward to more science!

    • Club SciKidz MD says

      March 17, 2020 at 6:56 pm

      Orange juice… that’s a great idea! It makes sense though, since it is quite acidic. Thanks for sharing!

  13. Josephine says

    March 17, 2020 at 7:24 pm

    Great engaging activity! It’s always a plus when my nine year olds can talk about the activity and what they learned at the end. I may have even learned a few things myself 😀
    We saw the best results with vinegar, mustard, ketchup, and (amazingly) chocolate syrup. Orange juice and blue Gatorade did nothing.
    Thank you for taking the time to do this. Please keep these awesome activities coming.

    • Club SciKidz MD says

      March 17, 2020 at 9:19 pm

      Chocolate syrup?? Now that’s a surprise! Thanks for sharing, and we are so glad you’re enjoying it and even learning a little something:) We will definitely keep the activities coming!

  14. Melissa says

    March 19, 2020 at 5:03 pm

    Thanks for the experiment! We didn’t get around to setting it up until today, but it was great fun! Even for a first grader, although she was mostly excited to drink the leftover soda! Hope you post more soon!

    • Club SciKidz MD says

      March 19, 2020 at 10:46 pm

      You are most welcome! We post one every day (Monday-Friday). You can find it at http://www.clubscikidzmd.com/blog/ or there’s always a link to it on our Facebook page. You can also subscribe on our blog and have it sent directly to your email!

  15. Carol says

    March 19, 2020 at 11:41 pm

    Our best result was vinegar! Thanks for the experiment and the daily posts – makes it easy to have science a part of every day

  16. Jessie says

    March 23, 2020 at 11:41 am

    My girls (ages 6 through 13) loved this. Thanks for the fun activity!

    • Club SciKidz MD says

      March 23, 2020 at 12:57 pm

      Thanks for letting us know! We hope they’ll enjoy the rest!

  17. anonymous says

    March 25, 2020 at 5:19 pm

    I used coke, mustard, vinegar, ketchup, and salt water. Ketchup worked best. Awesome experiment!

    • Club SciKidz MD says

      March 25, 2020 at 5:57 pm

      Thanks for sharing your results!

  18. Siobhan Lucas says

    March 27, 2020 at 2:51 pm

    My 2nd grade daughter and 5 year old preschool son had so much fun. Thank you very much for posting!

    • Club SciKidz MD says

      March 27, 2020 at 3:09 pm

      You are very welcome! We hope you have the chance to try some of our other experiments and activities!

  19. Gloria says

    March 27, 2020 at 3:31 pm

    Wonderful activity! I have a seven year old and at first before starting this, she was like, “Aww, I don’t want to do science!” but after watching some of the videos and then seeing how we were going to carry out the experiment, she was game! Thank you for these wonderful activities to keep kids and parents sane. We also tried lemon juice but ketchup and mustard seemed to do the most work at cleaning the pennies.

    • Club SciKidz MD says

      March 27, 2020 at 5:19 pm

      So glad to hear she enjoyed it. And if she gives a few others a chance, I bet we can make a scientist out of her 🙂

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