5 Easy Science Projects to Upcycle Plastic Easter Eggs

Easter egg hunts are fun. They are a celebration of spring. People start to get outdoors, the grass turns green, and daffodils add splashes of yellow to the thick carpet of verdant blades.

What do you do with the leftover plastic eggs? We have suggestions for some easy-to-accomplish science projects.

1. Plant Starters

Use a pin or needle to poke two or three small holes in the bottom half of a plastic egg. Then, fill it with potting soil. Place a small seed of your chosen plant in the middle, add a tiny amount of water, and set it near a window sill. Consider putting each half egg in an egg carton to catch any excess water underneath. 

After a week of watering, monitor any sprouts that might poke through the soil. Once the seedlings get bigger, transplant them into a bigger container.

2. Floating vs. Sinking Eggs

Another science experience is to test the buoyancy of various objects inside a plastic egg. Make a chart of each test, showing what objects and how much of each item you put in the egg. Consider taking a video of each test to refer to later.

Fill up a see-through pitcher of water or use the bathtub filled with water to perform each test. The pitcher is great for testing eggs one at a time. Meanwhile, the bathtub can work well for testing multiple eggs at once.

Consider these items to test in the plastic eggs:

• Air
• Dirt
• Grains of rice
• Dried beans
• Paperclips
• Tiny marshmallows
• Shreds of paper
• Fishing weights
• String

Consider starting with the lightest objects and going to the heaviest. Or mix and match the results. Make sure to talk to your youngster about density and why objects float or sink.

3. Egg Parachutes

Make lightweight parachutes of tissue or plastic bags. Attach them to one half of a plastic egg using paper clips that poke through the surface of the egg and bend on the inside, and are attached to a string on the outside of the egg. Then, fill the bottom half of the egg with various items, just like you did for the buoyancy test. Then, time how long it takes for the egg parachutes to reach the ground when you drop them from a certain height.

Observe how each item falls, and explain air resistance versus the size of the parachute versus the weight of each object.

For a twist on this experiment, go for accuracy. Put a target on the ground, and see if you can land the egg precisely on the target. Again, keep a record of the experiment using a chart or record videos of each attempt.

4. Magnet Maze

Have a lesson about magnetism using a fun-to-make magnet maze. Create a maze using glue sticks, straws, and a sturdy poster board. The maze can be as elaborate as you want. Make sure the pathways are wide enough to accommodate a plastic egg.

Place a small magnet inside an egg and guide it through a maze using another magnet underneath the surface of the poster. This offers a way to explain how magnetism works. Expand on the lesson to showcase how the earth generates a magnetic field that allows compasses to work.

5. Plastic Egg Catapults

Bring a trigonometry lesson to life with a catapult that launches plastic eggs. Build a simple one with popsicle sticks or balsa wood, creating a basket large enough to hold a plastic egg in it.

Measure the angle at which the catapult needs to be to get the longest flight and how far you need to pull the catapult back. Measure how far the egg goes on each launch.  Experiment with force and distance by launching different items inside the egg, like adding dry beans, flour, or other dry items of varying weight.

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N.E.T. Egg sells bulk empty plastic eggs with free shipping right to your door. Contact N.E.T. Egg online or call 1-800-458-4116 for more information.