Preparations are well under way to ensure that children have an exciting Easter. But what about activities for adults? Esplora comes up with some fun experiments involving science to try out…

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Do you know you can use vinegar to make eggs bouncy? Egg shells can take up to 20 hours to form through a process called calcification. This is because they are mostly made up of the chemical compound calcium carbonate, which is found in pearls, snail shells and limestone.

When added to vinegar, the shell of the egg is broken down by the acid in the vinegar, which also ‘cooks’ the inside and makes it solid and rubbery. All you have to do is place an egg in a bowl of vinegar, cover with cling film and allow 24 hours or more for the chemical process to take place and for the egg shell to dissolve.

Then lightly bounce or squash the egg. Egg-citing, right? You can also turn this experiment into a project by investigating how different liquids affect eggs. Why not also try out orange juice, oil, milk or water? It’s a great way to engage both adults and kids in the investigative process involved in science and it’s a fun way of recognising that science is all around us.

And while you’re eagerly waiting to see what happens to the egg shells, why not also investigate the science of cooking eggs? Explore the chemical properties of eggs and discover how cooking brings about chemical changes in the eggs. Egg whites contain a large amount of protein. These proteins are made up of a long chain of tiny molecules called amino acids held together by bonds.

When the eggs are fried, scrambled or boiled, the proteins gain energy from the heat and the bonds are shaken apart, causing the proteins to become ‘denatured’. What this means is that the proteins are then free to form new chemical bonds with each other, causing the egg to coagulate; which explains why egg whites change appearance from transparent to white as they are cooked. Go ahead, use different cooking methods to cook your eggs and observe what happens.

You can also use science to explain what happens to eggs when you beat them. Why do we only beat egg whites? And why do egg whites become light and fluffy? Well, when you beat raw eggs, you are incorporating air bubbles into them. These air bubbles affect the bonds of proteins in egg whites, so they are free to form new bonds, creating a structure that includes captured air bubbles and hold them in place. When the beaten egg whites are heated, the structure formed solidifies, so it does not collapse when the air bubbles burst open during heating. What a great excuse to make an Easter-themed meringue!

So go on, explore, think, imagine and appreciate the wonders science has to offer during Easter and its relevance to our everyday lives.

Esplora Interactive Science Centre in Bighi is Malta’s latest visitor attraction. Opening hours are Tuesdays to Fridays from 9.30am to 4pm, Saturdays from 10.30am to 5pm and Sundays and public holidays from 11.30am to 6pm.