Ideas for games at home: Chickpeas bouncing

An experiment from the FRÖBEL-Kindergarten Farbkleckse in Hürth.

How it works

Step 1

First you fill chickpeas into a glass until no more peas fit into it.

Step 2

Water is then poured in until the glass is completely full.

Why does the water still fit in there at all? That is because there are still spaces between the peas. Water is liquid and therefore fits in everywhere, it finds a space everywhere, even in the gaps.

Step 3

Now place the full glass on a plate and wait.

Why is that?

The peas soak up the water and get bigger and bigger - they expand. This means that the peas need much more space. The only way is out of the jar. So the peas "hop" out of the glass at the top.

Material:

• A glass
• Dried chick peas or dried peas
• Water
• A plate