Flip-Flop Pancake Lab

What you need

• Flour, 1 cup
• Salt, 1 pinch
• Milk, 1 cup
• Eggs, 1
• Plate or tray, 1
• Paper bag, 1 zip bag, or a squeeze bottle
• Paper, 1 sheet
• Crayons or markers, 1
• Baking powder, 2 teaspoons
• Sugar, 1 spoonful
• Butter, 2 tablespoons, plus a little for the pan
• Bowl, 2
• Whisk, 1
• Spatula, 1
• Measuring cups, 1 quarter cup
• Spoon, 1
• Pan, 1 frying pan
• Towel, 1
• Kid scissors, 1 pair, to snip the zip bag (optional)

How to do it

Grown-up prep: You will be right beside the stove the whole time. You hold the pan handle while your child squeezes the face, and you do the pour and the flip, because the pan is hot.

1. Whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt together in one bowl.
2. In the second bowl, whisk the milk, egg and cooled melted butter.
3. Pour the wet mix into the dry mix and stir gently.
4. Draw your pancake face on paper first.
   Ask: What kind of face will you put on your pancake?
5. Fill a squeeze bottle or zip bag with a few spoonfuls of batter.
6. A grown-up heats the pan over medium-low heat. A grown-up does this
7. Squeeze the face onto the hot pan, copying your drawing. Ask for help if you need it
8. Wait 30 to 60 seconds until the face lines turn darker.
9. A grown-up pours a quarter cup of plain batter over the face. A grown-up does this
10. When the bubbles pop, a grown-up flips the pancake. A grown-up does this
    Ask: Why do you think the face came out darker than the rest of the pancake?
11. Cook one more minute, slide it onto the plate, and show your friends!
    Ask: Which face came out best, and what would you draw next time?

Play it again

• Letter lab: squeeze one letter per pancake, drawn backward like in a mirror, so it reads the right way after the flip.
• Face factory: make a pancake face, then add toppings for eyes and a smile.
• Flip count: count how many bubbles you can spot before the flip, and see if more bubbles means fluffier.