Exploring the Digestive System

The kids love talking about digestion -- basically eating, food, and poop. This is all the rage at this age! This digestion activity lets them get messy while exploring the process of actual digestions from end to end. 

Materials:

• Food: Easy starches work best: crackers, rice, bread, cereal, etc.
• Stomach acid: Vinegar or lemon juice work best
• Water
• Plastic bag (acts as stomach)
• Panty hose with ends trimmed (to simulate the intestines)
• Scissors
• Paper
• Bowl
• Towels
• Writing utensils

Extras: human body model, science books with digestion diagrams, or look up videos/diagrams online

• 1. Have the kids break the food up into little pieces (bite size) add them to the plastic bag
• 2. Add about 1/2 cup water and vinegar to the plastic bag
• 3. Mash it up -- this simulate chewing, swallowing, and your stomach adding digestive enzymes
• 4. Once the food is a big mush, but a hole in the corner of the bag, and begin to squeeze it into the pantyhose tubes
• 5. Wrap the filled pantyhose with towels to absorb the liquid, this is how our bodies absorb the nutrients from our food
• 6. Once the moisture is mostly absorbed into the towels, squeeze the leftover material out of a small hole in the panty hose intestines. This is poop - unused food from our body.
• 7. Records results using a scientific process worksheet (free one attached at the end of the article)