The Great Jelly Bean Experiment

Miss Aleisha from She Calls Me Mama Leisha is here with us today!

She’s brought a family fun activity, The Great Jelly Bean Experiment, it looks like a super fun activity to do with the kids this Easter 🙂

Enjoy…

I have always been terrible at science.  Seriously.  There’s something about Biology and Chemistry that makes me a little clammy.  When Mr. Nelson pulled out the Periodic Table of Elements, my eighth-grade self would break out into hives.

I just don’t get it.

Take photosynthesis, for example.  I understand that plants use sunlight to produce sugar.  A chemical reaction (starting to sweat a little here) converts the sugar into the fuel, ATP, which the plant needs to grow and thrive.  BUT…once you start dropping terms like “The Calvin Cycle” and the “structure of a chloroplast,” you will most likely find me “going to my happy place” or slipping into a coma. Whichever.

Now, I will say that the ONE thing I DO understand is “The Scientific Method.”  The scientific method is actually an important process; it is a way to ask and answer questions by making
observations and doing experiments.  There are various steps in the scientific method:  Ask a question.  Construct a hypothesis.  Test your hypothesis by conducting an experiment.  Analyze the data you collected.  Draw a conclusion.

It’s funny how the Scientific Method came to my mind the other day as I was grocery shopping.  I found myself in the Easter candy aisle (not even sure how I got there, wink) and was debating over which bag of jelly beans to purchase.  People!  Have you noticed how many options there are?  Good grief, it’s enough to make your head spin.  I stood there and perused all the pretty pastel bags when suddenly an idea donned on me…

I needed to conduct, “The Great Jelly Bean Experiment!”

Step 1.) Ask a question.  Which bag of jelly beans is the best bag of jelly beans in all the land?  Is there a top dog, a ruler, a head honcho, a King Jelly Bean?

Step 2.) Construct a hypothesis.  My educated guess would be that all jelly beans are created equal.  Meaning, they are pretty much the same no matter what brand you try.  You’ve had one jelly bean, you’ve had them all.  Right?  OR, is there a perfect, “best-in-the-west,” bag o’ beans?

Step 3.) Test your hypothesis via an experiment.  Well shoot, you guys, if I was committed to this important scientific research there was only thing I could do.  Buy them all!  I felt ridiculous and obscene with ten bags of jelly beans in my cart, so I narrowed my selection down to four bags and put the rest back.  The four contenders?  Laffy Taffy beans, LifeSavers beans, Tropical Starbursts beans, and Nerds bumpy beans.

I knew I needed test subjects; brilliant scientists committed to not only splitting the atom but to eating lots of candy.  Where would I find such aficionados, such sugar gurus?

MY KIDS!  Perfect!  I explained to them what we were going to do, to which Lilly replied, “Wait a minute!  We’re eating all that candy?  Before lunch?  What is the catch?”

I poured the beans into bowls and told the kids to grab a couple of jelly beans from each.  We went through one bowl at a time, eating and recording our findings.

Step 4.) Analyze your data.  The LifeSavers jelly beans were delightful!  They had great flavors that packed a punch in your mouth.  The Tropical Starbursts jelly beans had lovely unique flavors coupled with a kick of tart.  The Nerds bumpy beans were totally weird and wild and awesome.  Unlike any bean that has ever been!  The Laffy Taffy jelly beans I liken to base jumping:  Don’t do it unless you absolutely, positively have too.  The banana flavored jelly bean was yucky enough it could have made a grown man cry.

Lilly graded all of her jelly bean samples on the classic, academic scale of A, B, C, etc.  Naturally, she gave all of her beans As.  She loved them all!

Cam claimed he loved “the blue ones,” which was odd to me considering I couldn’t find a blue one in the thousands we had strewn about the kitchen table.  Ultimately, the Nerds bumpy beans were his favorite.

Step 5.) Draw a conclusion.  My friends, I have many conclusions with the front runner being this:  My little scientists were on a sugar buzz all afternoon.  They were climbing the walls and bouncing off furniture.  The were cackling like maniacs and frothing at the mouth!  My “mom side” said, “Maybe this was a bad idea.” My “candy lovin’ side” said, “You experienced a stroke of genius the day you decided to do this.”

So I guess what it boils right down to in our beakers is this:  There are many different and tasty options out there.  Jelly bean selection and enjoyment is a matter of personal preference.  It’s up to you.  Find what you like and purchase that bag.  (Or two bags.)  You really can’t go wrong with most.  Oh!  Unless you buy those lousy Laffy Taffy beans.  In which case I would have to conclude you are NO rocket scientist!

Those Laffy Taffy jelly beans are dumb.

Happy Easter!

 

I have to say I adore those Starburst Jelly… like love them right to death 🙂  The Great Jelly Bean Experiment is fun for the whole family this Easter.

Thanks a million to Aleisha for coming to visit and share her adorable kiddos with us!

Have you been over to visit with her?  You must!  You can laugh, and learn, and cry along with her at www.callsmemamaleisha.com or find her on: Facebook// Pinterest// Google+

Happy, Happy Friday!!

xoxo~ Aleisha and Ruthie