Like all our favorite educational toys, these Growing Water Beads combine learning and fun. Watch them grow to a hundred times their size when placed in water. The beads transform into beautiful, glass-like spheres, and can be placed in a glass bowl and used as decorations. Get the most out of the beads by exploring them scientifically Before you place beads in water: Tell your child these beads might look ordinary but have a unique quality. What do they think it is? How can you best explore the beads? If they do not suggest it, propose putting the beads in a water container. Ask what will happen to the beads once they are wet. Come up with a hypothesis together. After the experiment, ask your child these questions to spark their curiosity: What happened to the beads? Why did they grow? Why do they shrink when taken out of the water? What happens if we hold a bead over letters on paper? What would happen if we put a seed into the bead? Answers: The Growing Water Beads contain a substance called a polymer. Polymers are hydrophilic, which means they love water. They can absorb impressive amounts of water, so they grow. This is also why we find polymers inside diapers, where they serve a beneficial purpose. The water evaporates, and the beads shrink back to their original size. The beads are tiny magnifying glasses. You can watch a seed sprout by inserting it into a water-filled bead. The beads go perfectly with our Water Absorbing Polymer Cubes.
