Growing a candy jack-o-lantern is a great way to put all those Halloween M&Ms to good use. If you haven’t done this activity before, I guarantee you the kids will LOVE it. (And some of the adults won’t be able to look away either!)
This Halloween STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) activity combines art and science. Plus, kids exercise their creativity as they design their jack-o-lanterns, develop fine motor skills as they place M&Ms on the plate, and get to witness a bit of “magic” (well, science disguised as magic) in the process.
Enjoy!
Note: For more kid-friendly Halloween activities, see my Halloween activities for Kids page.
To grow a candy jack-o-lantern, you will need the following materials:
- A plate
- Orange and brown M&Ms
- Water
Begin by using the orange M&Ms to make a circle around the outside edge of your plate.
Then use some brown M&Ms to add a stem and face.
Slowly pour water in the middle of the jack-o-lantern until water is touching all of the M&Ms.
To see what happens next, check out this short video:
Amazing, right?
What’s the science behind growing a candy jack-o-lantern?
The hard shell of the M&Ms is made with water soluble colors. When the water touches the M&Ms, the colors begin to dissolve off of the M&Ms and run into the water, filling in the candy jack-o-lantern with orange and brown coloring.
More Halloween resources
More Halloween posts from Gift of Curiosity:
- Flying teabag ghosts
- Mason jar jack-o-lantern
- Candy experiments
- Halloween Montessori activities
- Toilet paper mummies
- Pumpkin decomposition experiment
- Describe a pumpkin using all five senses
- Jack-o-lantern Printables Pack
You can find more Halloween activities and printables on my Halloween Activities for Kids page and Halloween Activities for Kids Pinterest board.
Follow Katie @ Gift of Curiosity’s board Halloween Activities for Kids on Pinterest.
Will this work with Smarties? or Skittles? Needs to be nut free.
I think so. Anything with a hard, colored shell that dissolves will work.