This simple kids’ science activity is perfect for little scientists who like seeing creatures come alive before their eyes. Like our fizzing popsicle paint and magic balloons, this kids’ science experiment uses baking soda and vinegar to make gummy worms dance.
Follow the simple step-by-step below and then grab 30 more easy-to-follow science experiments kids will beg to repeat (plus a no prep science journal to keep track of their results!) in our shop!
Getting Ready
First, I grabbed a bag of gummy worms and a few common household items:
- Gummy worms
- Baking soda
- Vinegar
- Cutting board
- Sharp knife
- 2 clear cups
Then, I cut the gummy worms in quarters. (I found it easier to do with a wet knife or one dusted with baking soda to prevent the worm from sticking to the knife.)
Next, I had my 4 year-old, A, measure out 3 tablespoons of baking soda and stir them into a glass filled with 1 cup of warm water. I handed her the pile of cut worms (we cut 3 worms in 12 pieces) and had her mix them into the baking soda and water concoction.
Now came the hard part. A had to wait a whole 15 minutes for the worms to soak in the baking soda mixture.
While we waited, we filled the second clear glass with vinegar.
As soon as the timer buzzed, A ran to the worms and very carefully fished them out with a fork.
We started by placing just a couple worms in the vinegar and they instantly started forming bubbles.
After a few seconds, the worms were covered in enough bubbles that they started rising from the bottom, writhing their way to the surface.
After several minutes, A wanted to add more – even though the first worms were still dancing about.
It turns out the extra worms just sat on the bottom, too weighted down by the other worms to rise.
So, in this kids’ science experiment, less is actually more, with about 4 worms being the best.
A, delighted she could make gummy worms come to life, couldn’t wait to show her little brother. He really thought they were alive and stared at them trying to figure out how we did it, then refusing to eat any of the remaining worms from the bag. 
Quick and simple with lots of “oohs” and “aahs”, this kids’ science experiment is sweet in more ways than one!
The Science Behind It
When you add the worms soaked in baking soda, the acetic acid in the vinegar reacts with the bicarbonate in the baking soda.
And when an acid and base react, carbon dioxide gas bubbles form.
These gas bubbles form on the gummy worm and as the gas bubbles rise to the surface, they pull the gummy worm up with them, making them wriggle and dance.
As the gas bubbles burst, the worm falls back down until enough bubbles form to pull it back up.
The bubbles will continue to form until all the baking soda on the worm is used up and the worm will stop wiggling.
More Simple Science Kids Will Love
Want a classroom experiment that’s both engaging and educational? This Glowing Bouncy Egg activity lets students explore osmosis and chemical reactions in a hands-on way!
thank you so much!! I am going to do it with my students 🙂 regards!!
Yay Miss Flavia!! I’m excited that you’re going to give the Frankenworms a try. Have fun!!
I love this idea. Is it ok to add to my Halloween round up?
Hi Malia, Love your pages. Great ideas. I tried one of yours but it was a bit of a fizzier. What do you think happened?
http://julieinthemaking.wordpress.com/2014/11/01/wiggly-worms-not-nailed-it-wednesday/
Thanks Julie
Hi Julie,
I’m sorry to hear the experiment didn’t turn out like expected. It definitely is fun to watch the worms dance around so it might be worth another try. I suspect cutting the worms in thirds and not fourths was probably where things went wrong. They really do have to be light for the air bubbles to give them lift. The worms are a pain to cut but I used a recently sharpened knife and that seemed to help a little. It’s a test in patience for sure! Good luck!! – Noirin
This science project didn’t work for me, i tried around 5 times following the instructions exactly. The biggest result i got was a tiny waving of the tip of the gummy worm. This was my science fair project, i was very let down by the turn out.
Sorry to hear that you had difficulty with the experiment, Beth.
We also tried this experiment and failed at first. We bought our gummy worms at target and they were fat! So, I cut them in four pieces. So we had four long skinny worms. Then in half, now we had eight worms about 1 1/2 inches long. Then I dredged them in baking soda before putting them in the baking soda water. we used less water in our baking soda mixture too. And IT WORKED! I really think we did not need the Step with less water. An hour later the worms are still dancing, just slower!! I hope this helps anyone who is trouble shooting this.
I am definitely interested in science ideas for the classroom. I am an elementary school coach, mom of three, and I love science naturally.
Thank you so much!
Love it 🙂
Do you have to immediately move the worms to the vinegar or can you pre-soak them? I want to do this with my preschoolers but we would have to do it in three groups and at different times, and each group would not have time to wait 15 minutes for the worms to soak.
Hi Riley,
I would think you could pre-soak the gummy worms in the baking soda and enough baking soda would coat the worms to make it work but you’d probably have to use them within an hour. I would suggest having all the worms pre-sliced then have 3 cups of the baking soda mixture on hand. Place the 1st batch of worms in 15 min before the first group will be doing this activity. Then add the second batch of worms to the second cup of baking soda just before you start the first group. That way by the time you get through the first group, the second group’s worms have soaked for 15 min. Then repeat this process when the second group starts with the worms for the third group. You could even have the kiddos mix up the baking soda and water then add the worms. Just use that mixture for the next group and have one that has been soaking on hand so they can see them dance without waiting. I do recommend trying it at home first so you get the hang of it before you have a group of kiddos watching you! I hope this helps!
I love this idea for a fun activity for kids. I also think it would be a great classroom project or even fun thing to do at a birthday party. I have seen it with raisins but worms are so much better!
thanks
I tried this and it failed 4 times. I tried making the worms minuscule in size. I tried presoaking them and applying baking soda after they were soaked. They danced for a second then sank. Tired just one small worm thinking the baking soda was too much for the vinegar. Didn’t work. There is a lot of trail and error with this experiment.
My tries also failed. My gummy worms were dissolving faster than absorbing the baking soda. Glad I tried it before presenting it to our scout group. Bummer.
This does not work. Don’t waste your time
This did not work for us. What a bummer!
Followed directions closely. Zero dancing occurred. 🙁
We got it to work!!! At first our experiment had also appeared to fail, so I let my son begin just pouring the baking soda/water mixture into the vinegar to make a volcano (so he could still have some excitement). Lo and behold that was the trick that did it! Not only did he get a “volcano”, the worms started “dancing” and rising to the surface with the help of the added baking soda. Two fun science experiments in one!
We couldn’t get this to work despite multiple attempts and the suggestion above. 🙁 We were able to get raisins to “dance”, though!
We couldn’t, either. We tried several times. I’m glad we tried it at home before trying it at the Brownie meeting. Bummer, this one gets tagged a lot on pinterest.
thanks for sharing! this is a perfect project to do with my son.
Experiment only works with ‘candy store” gummi worms. It does not work with dollar store candy. I tried several brands until i got it to work.
Awesome tip! Thanks for sharing, Ann!!
Tried three times, new vinegar, fresh baking soda, good quality worms! Cannot get it to work!
We only have sour gummy worms. Will those work?
This looks great! You always share unique ideas. Thank you.
Hi there, will this work with any snake lollies, such as Allens Snakes ?
Hello Penny,
Great question! I am not familiar with Allens Snakes, we’ve had the best luck using Black Forest gummy worms like the ones here: http://amzn.to/2kybLwb
The trick is to cut the worms into several small pieces so that they are light enough for the bubbles to lift them to the top of the cup.
I hope this helps!
Warmly,
Kimberleigh
Could you soak the gummies ahaead of time and let them dry to be better prepared? Will it still work?
Hello Sue!
Great question! We have never tried that way, but if you try it- we would love to hear your results!
Warmly,
Kimberleigh// Community Manager
Such a fun idea! Unfortunately it didn’t work for us and I had some super disappointed preschoolers. Maybe it was the worms we used? Used the Trolli brand. We followed everything exactly and the worms bubbled but never rose up in the vinegar. Maybe we’ll try again with different worms.
Hello Kiersten,
I am so sorry that it didn’t work. Here are some tips we gathered over the years: we’ve had the best luck using Black Forest gummy worms like the ones here: http://amzn.to/2kybLwb
The trick is to cut the worms into several small pieces so that they are light enough for the bubbles to lift them to the top of the cup.
I hope this helps!
Kimberleigh
We tried the dancing frankenworms several times and can not get them to rise. Any suggestions?
Hello Corinne,
Great question! We’ve had the best luck using Black Forest gummy worms like the ones here: http://amzn.to/2kybLwb
The trick is to cut the worms into several small pieces so that they are light enough for the bubbles to lift them to the top of the cup.
I hope this helps!
Warmly,
Kimberleigh
Hi Kimberleigh,
My Haribo Sour Worms just dissolved in the baking soda and water. I will try to find your brand.
Hello Leslie,
We’ve had the best luck using Black Forest gummy worms like the ones here: http://amzn.to/2kybLwb
The trick is to cut the worms into several small pieces so that they are light enough for the bubbles to lift them to the top of the cup.
I hope this helps!
Warmly,
Kimberleigh
Can we let the worms sit in the baking soda mixture for more then15 minutes?
Hi Samantha,
You can leave them for a little longer but I wouldn’t leave them for more than 30 min as they start to dissolve and get slimy. Hope this helps!
This is a cool experiment! I’ve done this with raisins, although didn’t coat them with baking soda first. (It still worked) The smaller, lighter raisins may work for those who are having trouble getting their worms to dance!
That is a wonderful alternative. We love the Frankeworms option as a fun activity to do in the fall or around Halloween.
But either one, I am sure the kids will love to do!
How can I share this to facebook? This is such a cute idea,
Does it matter what kind of gummy worms to use
Do you think this would work with gummy bears. Would be great for back to school and Letter Bb.
Hi Tammy,
We have a great gummy bears activity here: https://www.playdoughtoplato.com/growing-gummy-bear-science/
I hope this helps!
Warmly,
Kimberleigh
My worms didn’t float to the top! What did I do wrong? (I screwed up a kindergarten experiment, really? Haha)
Hello Heather,
We’ve had the best luck using Black Forest gummy worms like the ones here: http://amzn.to/2kybLwb
The trick is to cut the worms into several small pieces so that they are light enough for the bubbles to lift them to the top of the cup.
I hope this helps!
Warmly,
Kimberleigh
This did not work at all for us. We tried it for a science fair project and followed the directions in the post exactly but no dancing. They just laid on the bottom 🙁
Hi JC,
I’m so sorry that the experiment did not work for you. The ratio can be sensitive depending on the gummy worms.
You could try it with a higher concentration of baking soda, or you could also try it with sparkling water.
Hope that you have better luck next time.
Warmly,
Ashley // Happiness Ambassador
Good morning,
Our summer class tried the experiment with the worms. It seemed to be working with the bubbles attaching to the worms, but they did not dance. They only laid at the bottom of the vinegar jar. Is their a certain percentage of vinegar to use? The vinegar we used was 5% acidity. We will try this again at a later date.
Hi Mary,
Thanks for reaching out.
I’m sorry the experiment didn’t work.
Please check to be sure you sliced the worms lengthwise into pieces, so they are very thin. An entire worm is too heavy to “dance.”
Also, make sure you allow sufficient time for the worms to soak in the baking soda mixture.
Hope that helps!
Warmly,
Ashley // Happiness Ambassador
Hi I’m Brenda, I’m looking for fun things to do with the kids during covid-19 and the summer that is also educational?
Welcome, Brenda!
Hope you find some fun ideas here!
Warmly,
Ashley // Happiness Ambassador
Its actually pretty cool.!!
Yes! I agree, Ethan!
Warmly,
Ashley // Happiness Ambassador
This did not work for me with 3 times I tried
The worms bubbled but did not lift ,I tried even for 20 min soak on the last time I tried so what is the secret of making it work
Hi Carol,
I’m so sorry it didn’t work. Part of the secret is making sure the gummy worms are thin enough to be lifted.
Though we suggest cutting them into quarters, if you can cut them thinner, you may have a better chance of them working.
Warmly,
Ashley // Happiness Ambassador
This absolutely did not work for us. I ended up cutting the gummi worms so thin we could barely get them out with the fork after the they kept just bubbling. They still barely even moved.
How much vinegar do you use?
At least a cup, maybe more.
Whoops! Totally didn’t work for my class! Instead, we discussed how sometimes experiments don’t go as planned.
My worms are not rising :(! I’m doing this at a birthday party this Saturday please help. I used extra baking soda, cut them into fourths, and used all the ingredients you said. Do you think brands make a difference?
Hi there! So sorry that your worms didn’t rise on the first go! We don’t want that. The brand should not make too much a difference, but if the baking soda was expired that might impact the results.
Kaylee // Playdough to Plato Team
I did this at my summer camp and the worms did not dance.
Not working for me either 🙁 I was going to try this for our library Halloween STEAM program. I will try water and alka seltzer next, that works with smaller things like beans or popcorn
It works!!! Cut the worms in half. Then make them long, skinny, and thin. We allowed ours to soak for an hour and it works!
This did not work for me at all; the worms bubbled but never “danced.” Very disappointing! I followed the directions to a T, so I’m not sure what went wrong!
Same for me! I tried this 5 times but it still didn’t work. Very disappointed. Even though I followed the directions correctly it didn’t work. I don’t know what possibly went wrong.
We tried this and it didn’t work at all.
Hi there!
I’m so sorry it didn’t work. Part of the secret is making sure the gummy worms are thin enough to be lifted.
Though we suggest cutting them into quarters, if you can cut them thinner, you may have a better chance of them working.
Warmly,
Sarah // Playdough to Plato Team
It hasn’t worked for me either. I’m trying again. Mine dissolved. 😩
Is there an non-food alternative to gummy worms that can be used? We are doing this in school and don’t want to have kids eating these in the classroom.
Hi!
You can do a similar experiment with popcorn kernels, but the amounts of baking soda and vinegar needed would likely vary.
Warmly,
Sarah // Playdough to Plato Team
I tried this twice now and can’t get it to work! The first time I followed the directions exactly. The second time I lengthened the soaking time to 20 minutes and used a little warmer water. Both times, nothing happened! Any suggestions? I planned on doing this next weekend for my son’s science birthday party.
Hi Jackie,
I’m so sorry that the experiment did not work for you. The ratio can be sensitive depending on the gummy worms.
You could try it with a higher concentration of baking soda, or you could also try it with sparkling water.
Hope that you have better luck next time.
Warmly,
Sarah // Playdough to Plato Team