Potato Chips Bag – STEM Science Activity for Kids

Potato chips are undoubtedly the most popular snack in the world. Combining STEM science activities with potato chips is probably the tastiest way to learn!!

Yes! We are going to experiment with a bag of potato chips. This fun science activity for kids answers many questions about a bag of potato chips.

And as a bonus, your child gets to eat potato chips at the end of the STEM project. A win-win!!

STEM Potato Chip Science Activities for Kids

Let’s start with a bag of chips. You will need two of them. Now, the first thing any inquisitive mind (aka kids) notices is how the chips are packaged.

When you open the package, you will see that it is almost half empty. So what’s really going on here? Are food companies trying to rip you off?

Fun fact: an average bag of potato chips contains 43% air! Confused by this random fact? Check out more weird but true fun facts to be seriously amazed.

Well! Actually no! This fun challenge will help you understand the science behind potato chip packaging.

Take two bags of potato chips of the same brand. Tap an unopened packet with your finger. There must be a lot of air in there too, along with the chips.

Take a pin and poke a small hole in the edge of one potato chip bag. Обережно натисніть на пакет, щоб виштовхнути повітря з отвору. Once the bag deflates, you’re ready for fun!

Take a deflated bag and play potato chip cricket with it (it’s like balloon cricket, just replace the balloon with a deflated potato chip bag).

After you and your kids have played for 5-10 minutes, it’s time to replace the bag with regular potato chips. bag.

Now this bag does not deflate, and this is how the chips are sold in the supermarket, without any manipulation of the packaging. Play for an equivalent length of time to keep the parameters of the experiment under control.

When you’re done, it’s time to open the bag of chips. Do you see any difference in the bagged chips?

The chips in the deflated bag are broken and not as whole as the regular untempered potato chip bag!

Do your children understand now? The air in the potato chip bag acts as a cushion and prevents the chips from splitting when they reach you, just as bouncing protects you from a hard fall.

Blow out the air and you end up with broken, crumbly chips! It’s like bubble wrap for chips and other packaged snacks.

So the manufacturers aren’t really bluffing, they’re guaranteeing that you get whole, perfectly crispy chips. In addition, there is another important reason why these bags inflate. Can you guess?

Try it! Grab two more sealed bags of potato chips for this STEM science activity for young kids.

Release one packet with a pin. Keep this bag with the raw potato chip bag in the same place.

Using a marker, write the date on both bags. Check them out in a week.

Open both bags and try the chips from both. Can you taste the difference? This is another clever packaging trick.

Snack bags are not inflated with air, but with nitrogen. Known as nitrogen flushing, this keeps your snacks fresh and crisp.

Now that you and your kids understand the science behind a bag of potato chips, it’s time to enjoy the crunchy crisps.

Explore KidPillar STEM eBooks to make learning practical for kids.

Source: Potato Chips Bag – STEM Science Activity for Kids