Earlier this month, we released our latest book in partnership with Science Buddies, Hack Your Kitchen: Discover a World of Food Fun with Science Buddies. Young scientists will learn all about many different scientific principles and properties using everyday tools and ingredients from their own kitchens – and today you can get a sneak peek at one of the projects right here!

Instructions

1. Fill the baking dish with flour.
2. Use the sieve to sift a thin layer of cocoa powder onto the flour.
3. Try dropping a small ball into the pan from about 1 foot (0.3 m) above it.

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4. Look at the impact crater. How does it look different from the rest of hte pan? Measure the depth of the crater.
5. Try dropping the same ball from a different height, and measure the depth of the new crater. How does it compare to your first crater?
6. Try dropping balls of different sizes from the same height, or from different angles. How do these craters differ from one another?

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Science Takeaway

Impact craters are made when meteorites crash into a planet or moon. The size, shape, and color of the crater depends on how big the meteorite was and how fast it was going when it hit the ground. The faster or bigger the meteorite is, the deeper and larger the impact crater will be.

Click here to download this project as a PDF! We’d love to see pictures on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest of your creations – tag us @LernerBooks and @ScienceBuddies! And be sure to check out the rest of the great activities in Hack Your Kitchen: Discover a World of Food Fun with Science Buddies.