Today I was a little surprised of what we learned as we followed up on an experiment which was in our chemistry reading yesterday.  We didn’t do it yesterday because we didn’t, and usually don’t, have soda (aka “pop” to my Pennsylvania friends) in the house.  We hot glued 8 Mentos together and dropped them in the 2 liter bottle of diet coke.  You can see the results in the video below.

We briefly reviewed the topics of chemical reactions and physical reactions.  (Yes, it is a Saturday, and no, they didn’t mind at all.)  It also turned into a realization of why we as a family do not drink soda, and are trying to minimize candy.  What happens inside of your body when you consume these things together?!?   We take a classical approach to education, so it shouldn’t have surprised us that the subjects of health and chemistry blended together.  I guess it was unexpected because I hadn’t thought of a healthy habit tie-in earlier and it wasn’t  planned.  So, what unexpected lessons did you learn this weekend?

(Please know I am not preaching to or judging those of you who drink soda.  It is just our preference for our family.  I’m just sharing how much learning is done out of school time and how we have to be open to straying from the focus topic from time to time.  You would likely disagree with our Hershey Kiss intake. 😉 )