Middle School Students Absorb a Lesson in Science

Sixth-grade scientists in Heather Schmidt’s classes absorbed a lesson in controls and variables, much like a sponge... or in this case, a Twinkie!

Twinkies, a cult-favorite snack, are also called sponge cakes, so the assumption is that it would act like a sponge and absorb liquids.

“We are comparing what happens if we add rubbing alcohol to a Twinkie,” Schmidt said to the class. “We have one regular one with no alcohol and then our variable would be the alcohol."

Which is more flammable, a regular twinkie or one soaked in rubbing alcohol?

With hypotheses written down, googles on and the experiment prepped in a safety tray, it was time to find out.

Testing the regular Twinkie proved to be uneventful. Despite Schmidt’s best effort, the tasty treat did not ignite and only charred slightly where the flame had touched it. Student recorded their observations – sights, sounds, smells and more – from the initial control experiment.

Next, it was time to compare the addition of a variable to the experiment.

For the variable testing, Schmidt added just a small amount of rubbing alcohol to the snack cake. This time, the results were immediate – the snack cake sat in the safety tray glowing as it immediately caught fire. The students recorded their observations, which were quite different from before.

In a repeat of the experiment, Schmidt added alcohol to the original control Twinkie, which did not catch fire the first time and got glowing results. With the added variable, the Twinkie ignited, unlike before.

“I introduced the variable to my control Twinkie, and I am getting the same results,” said Schmidt. “This is interesting because a scientist always wants to try to repeat their results. This is now two times where the Twinkie has caught fire with the added variable.”

After the Twinkies were safely extinguished it was up to our young scientists to determine whether their observations and evidence collected from the experiment supported their original hypothesis.

Schmidt's Twinkie lab is legendary in the school. Its origins began 20 years ago with a fun class experiment to test the density of a Twinkie and has evolved to include many different experiments since. Schmidt even hosts a museum of Twinkie memorabilia in her classroom, which her students have added to over the years. Her Twinkie-themed treasures include lunchboxes, books, socks, coffee mugs and more. Her class even has a beloved mascot: Twinkie the Kid.