Key Takeaways:
- Introduce science into your Christmas celebrations with fun and easy home experiments
- Explore the science of taste and smell with sweet experiments
- Understand the social reasons behind laughter and humor with cracker joke experiments
- Learn about biomechanics and flight motions by dissecting a festive bird
- Discover the chemistry behind salt and ice with a simple ice cream making experiment
- Approximate the value of pi using Buffon’s Needle experiment with pine needles
Introduction to Christmas Science Experiments
Christmas may seem like a time for switching off and suspending disbelief, but there are plenty of ways to introduce a little science into the celebrations. Experts have shared their top home experiments to challenge friends and family, making the holiday season a fun and educational experience. From exploring the science of taste and smell to understanding the social reasons behind laughter and humor, these experiments are sure to delight both kids and adults.
The Science of Taste and Smell
Matthew Cobb, a professor of zoology at the University of Manchester, suggests a simple experiment to demonstrate how flavor largely consists of smell, not taste. By picking a sweet such as a jellybean and eating it with your eyes shut and holding your nose, you will probably only be able to identify it as "sweet" and maybe have a vague idea of something else. However, when you release your nose, you will get a sudden rush of sensation that enables you to correctly identify the flavor. This experiment shows how the volatile smells emitted by food go up into our nose via the back of our mouth, stimulating our olfactory neurons, and combining with taste to produce flavor.
The Social Science of Laughter
Sophie Scott, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at University College London, suggests experimenting with cracker jokes to see what can influence whether or not people laugh. By reading jokes to yourself and then to someone else, you can observe how social connection amplifies laughter. Scott notes that we are 30 times more likely to laugh if there is someone else with us than if we are alone, and that laughter is amplified by social connection. This experiment highlights the social reasons behind laughter and humor, showing that it’s not just the joke itself that makes us laugh, but also the company we’re in.
Biomechanics and Flight Motions
Steve Brusatte, a professor of palaeontology and evolution at the University of Edinburgh, recommends exploring the carcass of a festive bird to understand the anatomy of motion. By removing the bones and examining how they fit together, you can demonstrate how the various bones work together to move the wing up and down. This simple experiment provides a better understanding of biomechanics and flight motions than any textbook. Prof Sue Black, a forensic anthropologist, also suggests boiling the carcass to create a 3D jigsaw puzzle of bones, allowing you to reconstruct and understand the anatomy of motion.
The Chemistry of Christmas
Andrea Sella, a professor of inorganic chemistry at UCL, shares a simple experiment to explain why salt is commonly spread on pavements in the winter. By mixing cream, egg yolks, and sugar, and then warming the mixture, you can create a custard. By placing the custard in a plastic bag and surrounding it with crushed ice and salt, you can lower the temperature to -10C or lower, creating a soft and delicious ice cream. This experiment demonstrates how the dissolved salt prevents liquid water molecules from freezing back onto the remaining ice, stealing heat from the custard and creating a practical example of science in action.
Festive Pi(e)
Kit Yates, a professor of mathematical biology and public engagement at the University of Bath, suggests a fun experiment to approximate the value of pi using pine needles. By scattering pine needles on a piece of ruled paper and counting the number of needles that cross a line, you can plug your numbers into a formula to approximate pi. This experiment demonstrates how pi seems to crop up in unusual places, showing how probability can be used to approximate this fundamental mathematical constant. With these experiments, you can add a touch of science to your Christmas celebrations, making the holiday season a fun and educational experience for everyone.
