Culinary arts students in the Calais ESY program did a fun food science experiment with a lesson on sugar and diffusion using sugary candy this week. Some of the results were beautiful!

Teacher Kelly Walsh used Skittles candy to show students that sugar water is heavier than regular water. “The lesson is to help the kids understand how sugar is heavy and diffuses slowly across the plate and in our bodies,” Ms. Walsh said.  “I explained that artificial dyes are used in these products and they contain a lot of sugar, more than they need as growing adolescents.”

Students were asked to line Skittles candy around the circumference of a plate and then fill the center of the plate with warm water, one quarter cup at a time.

The students learned that “sugar water is heaver than regular water so the color dissolves in a straight line to the other side of the plate.”

The results produced a rainbow of colors and students learned that one full bag of the candy contained 250 calories and 14 teaspoons of sugar.