#1 Science Forum For Lab Technicians

Has anyone popped popcorn in a beaker? I'm pretty sure my last school did it but that is many years ago! It would be a teacher demo. From memory it was a large-sh (600ml or 1000ml?) beaker with a watch glass on top (instead of a saucepan and lid) and then cooked over the bunsen (maybe the magnetic hotplate would work though?). Obviously the popcorn won't be consumed! It's either in a beaker or in a saucepan, but then the kids can't see it happening.

Teachers here use beakers to make popcorn. Watch glass would work but we use a gauze mat instead, however I don't think there is any real reason as to why we use a gauze mate over a watch glass

Only reason I can think to use a gauze mat might be incase excessive pop corn might lift the glass and cause it to fall off and smash . Then again , I know several teachers that have the knack of cracking watch glasses when boiling water over a bunsen


BTW , Rosalie , did you start this topic just as an excuse to use the Popcorn emoji

All glassware at this school has a very short life expectancy so maybe it is a good thing I don't hand out watch glasses becasue I KNOW I'd probably get back half of what I give out.
I had 6 beakers broken in 1 lesson last week doing the 'Disease Transmission' prac.... sometimes I just give up, sit back, and watch the chaos

bigmack wrote: 05 May 2025, 15:41
BTW , Rosalie , did you start this topic just as an excuse to use the Popcorn emoji

No but it was quite fitting The teacher didn't want to do it in the beaker because she wants the kids to be able to eat it at the end... So I'm trying to find someone with a popcorn maker or a time they can use the kitchen.

So, we've just done this one again this year. The teacher did it in beakers but 3 beakers broke in the process... We are now looking into induction hotplates and saucepans. Not just for this one prac, but there have been a few times the teachers have wanted hotplates instead of bunsens for whatever reason and the hotplates we have (the magnetic stirrer ones) aren't quick enough or accurate enough for what they're needing. Do any of you use portable induction hotplates? Thoughts?

We bought some saucepans with glass lids (about $20 each at KMart) so that the kids can see what is happening and then eat the results. Unfortunately we can't borrow saucepans from the kitchens as all of theirs have metal lids.
We use the KMart portable hotplates to cook them on. Not induction so they're slower but also heaps cheaper to buy!