Make Glowing Bouncy Eggs

Materials you'll need

• 1 egg
• 1 yellow highlighter
• 1 glass or cup
• White vinegar
• Paper towel
• Black light (UV flashlight)

 

Step-by-step tutorial

Step 1: Pull the ink cartridge out of a yellow highlighter and squeeze the ink into a glass. Tip: hold the cartridge with a paper towel to avoid staining your hands!

Step 2: Gently place an egg into the glass with the highlighter ink.

Step 3: Pour white vinegar over the egg until it is completely covered. You should start to see tiny bubbles forming on the eggshell.

Step 4: Leave the egg in the vinegar and ink solution for 24–48 hours.

Step 5: After 24–48 hours, carefully remove the egg and gently wipe it clean with a paper towel. The hard outer shell has completely dissolved, leaving a soft, rubbery egg!

Step 6: Turn off the lights, shine a black light on your egg, and reveal your glowing ghost egg! You can even squeeze and bounce it.

Learn more

When you soak an egg in vinegar, a chemical reaction happens between the acetic acid in the vinegar and the calcium carbonate in the eggshell. The acid breaks down the calcium carbonate and releases carbon dioxide gas. Those are the tiny bubbles you saw! The hard shell dissolves completely, but the flexible membrane hiding underneath stays behind, leaving you with a soft, rubbery egg. While the egg soaks, the fluorescent dye from the highlighter is absorbed into that membrane. Fluorescent dyes can absorb invisible ultraviolet (UV) light and release it as bright, visible light, which is why your egg glows under the black light!