Chemistry in the Kitchen

In this kitchen chemistry activity, learners explore the chemistry of crystals by making sugar crystals, consider a common chemical reaction type responsible for the rising of muffins and cake in the oven, and study the cleaning power of soap. For some of the experiments, a molecular-level view is fostered using structural diagrams of the chemicals, along with a fun "cartoon" version of the reaction with molecules represented by colored shapes (both drawn and cut out). The activity is written to be part of a kit that can be checked out of the library, but can be done without the kit.