Did you know you can make an egg bounce? This bouncy egg experiment turns a raw egg into a squishy, see-through “naked” egg with nothing but vinegar and a little patience.
It’s simple, not very messy, and a great way to explore what’s inside an egg without its shell. It does take a few days, so it works best for kids old enough to wait (and check on it every morning).
How to Make a Bouncy Egg
Bouncy Egg Science Observation printable
Get the printableRaw eggs
White vinegar
Clear jars with a wide mouth
Food coloring (optional)
Cover the egg with vinegar
Gently place a raw egg in a tall, clear jar with a wide mouth. The egg gets bigger as it soaks, so the wide mouth matters when it’s time to get it out. Pour in enough vinegar to cover it. Add a few drops of food coloring if you want a colorful egg.
Observe
Have kids look closely. Are there bubbles? What does the shell look like? Is the egg sinking or floating? Is it getting bigger or smaller? Check back a few times over the first day.
Change the vinegar after 24 hours
Carefully pour off the old vinegar and cover the egg with fresh vinegar. Go slow, because the shell is getting soft and it’s easy to poke a hole in it. Let it sit another 1 to 2 days.
Rinse off the shell
Once the shell is completely gone, gently rinse the egg under cool water. What’s left is the egg’s thin, rubbery membrane holding everything together.
Bounce it!
Hold the egg just an inch or two above a tray or plate and let it drop. It bounces! Try a little higher each time, but not too high, because it will eventually break.
🥚 Raw egg reminder
These are still raw eggs, so wash hands after handling them, wipe up any spills, and don’t eat the egg when you’re done.
One of our three eggs got a hole poked in it while we changed the vinegar. It couldn’t bounce, but it turned out to be a really cool look at the inside of an egg. So, a fail, but a fun one!
How the Bouncy Egg Experiment Works
An eggshell is made of calcium carbonate. Vinegar is an acid, and when it touches the shell it reacts and makes carbon dioxide gas. Those are the bubbles you see on the egg. Over a couple of days, the reaction dissolves the whole shell.
The egg also gets bigger as it soaks. The membrane under the shell is semi-permeable, which means water can pass through it. Vinegar is mostly water, so water moves into the egg. This is called osmosis. The stretchy membrane is what lets the egg bounce and squish.
Just be careful. Even though it bounces and squishes, it can still break!
Turn it into a real science lab with the observation packet. Kids record a hypothesis, observe the egg for three days, test the bounce and label the parts of an egg.
What’s included
- Hypothesis page
- 3-day observation pages
- Bounce test recording page
- Color and label 8 parts of an egg
- Instant PDF download, nothing is shipped
Perfect for
- Science fair projects
- Homeschool science
- Elementary classrooms
- Easter and spring science
- Science journals
Bouncy Egg Experiment FAQ
Soak a raw egg in white vinegar for 2 to 3 days, changing the vinegar after the first day. When the shell is gone, rinse the egg gently and drop it from an inch or two up.
The vinegar dissolves the hard shell and leaves the stretchy membrane underneath. That rubbery membrane holds the egg together and lets it bounce.
Vinegar is mostly water. Water moves through the egg’s semi-permeable membrane into the egg. This is called osmosis.
Usually 2 to 3 days. You’ll see bubbles right away, and the shell is usually gone after 48 to 72 hours.
Yes. Kids can test a question like “Does a longer soak make a bouncier egg?” and record their results on observation pages.
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Did you try it? Tell us how it went!
We love seeing these activities out in the wild: the lumpy letters, the snack breaks, the proud “I made a B!” moments. Leave a star rating, tell other parents what worked (and what totally didn’t), and add a photo of your setup if you’d like.
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