🧪 Science with Sarah: Homemade Boba 🥤

👉 Watch the video of Sarah’s science experiment at Jubilee Academy!

Hello parents, teachers and students! This tasty science experiment will have your kids understanding food science and chemical changes.

Be sure to check out GMSA@9 on Wednesday mornings when Meteorologist Sarah Spivey does demonstrations and explains the science behind it.

Science with Sarah in partnership with the San Antonio Zoo (Copyright KSAT 2023 – All rights reserved)

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED

  • A scale which can measure to the nearest tenth gram
  • Sodium alginate
  • Calcium chloride
  • A sweet liquid
  • Cup measuring tool
  • A dropper or syringe

DO THE EXPERIMENT

MAKE THE BOBA LIQUID

STEP 1: Using the scale, measure out 2 grams (0.07 oz) of sodium alginate

STEP 2: In the blender combine 2 grams of sodium alginate with 1 cup of a sweet liquid of your choosing (I used Sprite with food coloring!)

STEP 3: Blend well, place liquid into a container and put in the fridge for an hour or overnight. This helps get rid of the bubbles.

MAKING THE BOBA

STEP 1: Using the scale, measure out 2 grams (0.07 oz) of calcium chloride

STEP 2: Mix the 2 grams of calcium chloride with 1 cup of water in a bowl

STEP 3: Fill the other bowl with water

STEP 4: Fill the dropper or syringe the refrigerated Boba liquid from earlier

STEP 5: Carefully drop the Boba liquid into the bowl with calcium chloride

STEP 6: Wait about 1 minute, then use the fork to fish out the formed Boba balls and transfer the Boba into the bowl with water to rinse off the calcium chloride

STEP 7: You’ve made Boba!

SCIENCE WITH SARAH

If you’d like Sarah and David to come to your school and conduct a science experiment live on KSAT, fill out this form. “Winners” are selected at random.