Daily Idea #317: Straw Worms

Watching the natural laws of the world be transformed right before your eyes is pretty incredible; that is probably why magic tricks are so fascinating. With the “straw worm” trick it’s a matter of science, but the whole thing just blows my kids’ minds. I only taught this trick to my kids a few weeks ago and I am still shocked it took this long for me to show the magic of “straw worms”. I think my dad was keen to show me this trick when I was no older than 3 and it wasn’t something we got to do all the time. What made it special was that it was only done when we went out to a restaurant to eat and we received straws with our drinks (fancy, I know).

All you you need for today’s daily idea are straws with paper wrappers and a small amount of water. The first thing to do is take the paper wrapper off the straw— you want to hold the straw upright and smush the paper down the straw until it’s nothing more than a hollow scrunched up tube. Then, using your straw, take a bit of water and dribble it over the smushed up tube. Watch it expand before your eyes!