10 Tasty Edible Science Labs to Use in Your High School Classroom

This classic osmosis lab is sure to be a hit in your secondary science classroom! This gummy bear osmosis lab is broken up into two days and the only materials you need are gummy bears, salt, water, cups, metric ruler, and a scale.

In this fun edible science lab, students will complete a background reading and questions to learn about tonicity, osmosis, homeostasis, and cell transport. They will then make hypotheses, follow a procedure, collect data, make simple calculations (volume, percent change, and density), create graphs, answer analysis questions, and end with a scaffolded conclusion. 

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“As a teacher who got thrown into marine biology and marine ecology this year, these resources have saved my life; specifically this one! I had no idea what biomagnification or bioaccumulation was so this resource really broke everything down for me. It was super easy to use for my students as well! ” – Jay B.

In this edible science lab, students will learn about and model the phases of mitosis, interphase, and cytokinesis using sandwich cookies (Oreos), sprinkles, and red candies (Red Hots) in this fun and edible mitosis lab. Students will read and learn about the processes of cell division and then apply that knowledge to model the processes using yummy treats. My high school students love this mitosis lab activity!

Forget the volcano baking soda experiment! In this volcanoes lab, students model three types of volcanoes using a cookie, chocolate chip, and a chocolate kiss. They will link the data collected from the models to complete CER activities and draw volcanoes to scale. A Volcanoes Reference Sheet (anchor chart), detailed lesson plan, editable lab handout, Google Slides version, and answer key with rubric are all included!

Fun Hands-On CER!

In this Plate Tectonics Graham Cracker Lab, students model different plate boundaries with edible ingredients and write a short CER about how the model is representative of the actual plate boundary. Included within the lab handout are pre-lab questions, step-by step easy to follow procedures for each type of boundary interaction, scaffolded claim, evidence, and reasoning writing activities, and a rubric.

Also included are a teacher’s guide and lesson plan, a student reference sheet, and a PowerPoint presentation with information about plate boundaries and photos of the actual lab in action. All you need is are two graham crackers, frosting, one mini rice krispy treat, and few chocolate chips per group.

Students use fruit ring cereal to simulate genetic drift and gene flow in this fun and low-prep genetic drift lab. First, student read background information to review genetic drift, genetic diversity, gene flow, and natural selection and answer pre-lab questions pertaining to the background information.

Students will then model and collect data on founder effect, bottleneck effect, and gene flow in their cereal population. To sum things up, students will analyze their collected data and answer post-lab questions. A comprehensive lesson plan and answer key are included!

In this low-prep lab, the fruit cereal pieces represent fictional Rainbow Rabbits and each color of cereal represents the gene for color. Students simulate genetic drift events and gene flow to see how they impact genetic diversity in their cereal rabbit populations.

Candy Cell Models for Upper Middle and High School

This edible cell model lab is sure to be a hit in your secondary science classroom! Students are always engaged and deepen their knowledge when yummy treats are involved!

Students will complete a background reading and questions to learn about prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. They will then create a model of each type of cell, complete a data table, draw and label their cell models, and answer reflection questions.

This starburst rock cycle lab from Little Bins is a great, hands-on and edible activity for learning about the rock cycle. Students use Starburst candies to model the processes of how rocks change into other types of rocks in the rock cycle.

You can find free lab sheets to go with this activity from Homeschool Daily here.

Edible Science Labs Bundle

Grab ten ready-to-go edible science labs for your secondary science classroom and have some tasty fun with your students all year long!

Life Science

• Biomagnification with Cereal Lab
• Gummy Bear Osmosis Lab
• Genetic Drift with Cereal Lab
• Edible Cell Models Lab
• Gummy Worm Meiosis Lab
• Mitosis Cookie Lab

Earth Space Science

• Layers of the Earth with Candy Lab
• Natural Resources Cookie Mining Lab
• Plate Tectonics Graham Cracker Lab
• Type of Volcanoes Lab

Chemistry

• Balancing Chemical Equations with Candy Lab