We're looking at polymers in our Great Alginate Worm Experiment! We're going to make a flavoured Sodium Alginate Worm solution and add it to Calcium Chloride solution which, through the process of cross-linking, makes gummy worms with a liquid centre! They're also safely edible and are great as a snack or on top of other scientific treats.


The downloadable PDF worksheet for this experiment can be found here:
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--Materials--
Food Grade Sodium alginate
Food Grade Calcium chloride
Distilled Water
Bowl
Food dye or Kool-Aid flavour
Container with lids for mixing the sodium alginate solution
Syringes for making our worm shapes

--Procedure--
1. In a big bowl, mix 1 tablespoon of Calcium Chloride with 1 cup of warm water. Mix until the solution is clear and the Calcium Chloride is fully dissolved. It will become murky before it becomes clear.
2. In a separate container, or more if you're making different colours or flavours, mix 1/2 teaspoon of Sodium Alginate with 1/2 cup of warm water. Mix until fully dissolved and you might need a blender because the alginate has a tendency of clumping.
3. Add 1 tablespoon of Kool-Aid flavouring (or food dye if you just want colour) to your alginate solution and mix well.
4. Using a syringe or squeeze bottle to add your alginate worm solution to your calcium chloride solution. Try to make it one long stream for a longer worm.
5. Let it set for a few seconds then gently pull it out of the water to see your worm!
6. If you flavoured it to eat, rinse it with cold water or it will be very salty. Now enjoy your worms, they go well on ice cream.

You can dispose of everything down the sink but be sure to run your taps for several minutes so nothing settles and damages your pipes.


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