Apple Mummy Lab

What you need

• Salt, about 1.5 cups
• Baking soda, about 1.5 cups
• Clear cups, 4
• Painter's tape, 4 strips for labels
• Paper, 2 sheets
• Crayons or markers, a few (optional)
• Apple, 1
• Kitchen scale, 1
• Spoon, 1
• Knife, 1, grown-up only
• Cutting board, 1, for the grown-up

How to do it

Grown-up prep: A grown-up cuts the apple in the first step, so keep the knife on your side of the table. Keep everything out of reach of pets and little ones during the week. These apple chunks are science only, so no snacking.

1. A grown-up cuts the apple into four equal chunks. A grown-up does this
2. Weigh each chunk and write its weight on your paper.
3. Put one chunk in an empty cup. This is your control.
4. Bury one chunk in salt and one in baking soda.
5. Mix half salt and half baking soda, then bury the last chunk.
   Ask: Which chunk do you think will dry out the most, and why?
6. Label every cup and park them on a shelf for seven days.
7. After seven days, dig out the chunks and brush them off.
   Ask: What do the chunks look and feel like compared to the control?
8. Weigh each chunk again. Which one lost the most weight?
9. Draw your mummies and make a chart of the results. What will you test next?
   Ask: What else could we try drying next time?

Play it again

• Fruit swap: try pear, banana or potato chunks and see which dries fastest.
• Mystery mix: add a new ingredient like sugar or cornstarch and guess how it will do.
• Time test: weigh the chunks every day and chart how the weight changes.