Chocolate doesn’t need to be the only type of egg to feature at Easter.

Used to represent new life, painted red in many ancient traditions to symbolise the blood shed by Christ on the cross, eggs can also be a great way to keep little (and not so little) hands occupied this long weekend.

And, let’s face it, this is a great way to get them off a device at least for a little while.

Decorated hard-boiled Easter Eggs

You will need:

• Hard boiled eggs
• Oil
• Food colouring
• Vinegar
• Water
• Small plastic bowls, cups and spoons

Method:

1. Mix one cup of hot water with a few drops of food colouring and a teaspoon of vinegar.
2. Make as many cups of different colours as you like.
3. Place one egg into each cup, and let it sit for a few minutes. (Make sure the whole egg is covered in liquid, so the entire egg shell is dyed.)
4. Remove the eggs from the liquid and place on paper towels to dry off.
5. To then add a marbled effect add two to three centimetres of water to a bowl, along with one tablespoon of oil and five drops of food colouring.
6. Place one egg into each bowl of coloured water. (The liquid should only cover half the egg). Spoon the mixture over the egg and let it sit for a few minutes.
7. Roll the egg over, to let the dye soak into the other side.
8. Scoop the eggs out and place them onto paper towels to dry.

The oil in the second mixture prevents the food colouring from properly adhering to the egg shell, giving the shell a marbled appearance.

Egg bath bombs

Equipment:

• 1 cup baking soda
• ½ cup cornstarch
• ½ cup Epsom salts
• 4 tablespoons cream of tartar
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil (melted)
• 3 – 4 teaspoons water
• Food colouring
• Plastic Easter Egg moulds (or cupcake tray, if you don’t have one)

Method:

1. In one bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.
2. In another bowl, mix together the wet ingredients.
3. Whisk together all ingredients until the mixture forms a crumbly texture. It should be fairly dry but just wet enough to hold its shape when moulded together.
4. Fill your mould with mixture, patting it down after adding each spoonful of mixture to make sure it’s tightly packed throughout the mould. (It has to be really tightly packed or it will fall apart when you remove it from the mould) For a twist, add a small plastic toy such as a toy dinosaur to the centre of your bath bomb, when packing your mould.
5. Leave them to dry.
6. Gently squeeze the mould or tip it upside down to remove the bath bomb.
7. Enjoy your fizzy ‘dinosaur egg’ bath bomb!

Keen for some more science fun? Check out Edie’s Experiments: How to Make Friends, Edie’s new book for middle-grade readers. (You can even read an extract from the book here!)

And for more hands-on science at home, check out Edie’s Activities at Home, where new activities will be released every fortnight!

Eggs-periment

Equipment:

• Egg (a raw egg works best, but you can use a hard-boiled egg if you’d prefer less mess)
• Vinegar
• Cup or glass
• Food colouring (optional)

Method:

1. Carefully place the egg in the glass, and fill the glass with vinegar. (The egg needs to be completely covered with vinegar.)
2. If you’d like to create a coloured egg, add 2-3 drops of food colouring to the mixture.
3. Leave the egg in the vinegar for 48 hours, until the shell has completely dissolved.
4. Remove the egg from the mixture. The shell should have completed dissolved, leaving only the egg membrane intact.
5. Gently pat the egg dry, then test out your rubbery egg. With only the membrane intact, the egg will feel rubbery, and should bounce (a little) when dropped on your kitchen bench. Warning: if using a raw egg, the membrane will break if it’s bounced too hard.

Explanation:

The acetic acid in the vinegar dissolves the calcium carbonate of the shell. (This is an example of a reaction between an acid and a base.)

More stories like this:

• Boredom busters for fun learning
• Keep boredom at bay these school holidays