Hey there! It’s Kamri. My friends and I are having a movie night, and I’m making some popcorn. Have you ever wondered how popcorn pops and turns from a hard kernel into fluffy white popcorn? I sure have! Luckily, I got some help from Asher Jay, a National Geographic Explorer, who knows all about popcorn.
Did you know that popcorn kernels are a special type of corn? They are different from the corn we eat at barbecues. Popcorn kernels have a strong shell, or hull, which is great at trapping steam inside.
Each popcorn kernel is like a tiny pressure cooker. When you heat the kernel, the moisture inside turns into steam. This steam fills up the inside of the kernel, just like a tea kettle. But since the steam can’t escape, it builds up pressure inside the strong hull.
Eventually, the pressure becomes too much, and the kernel bursts open. The popping sound you hear is the steam rushing out, similar to the sound of opening a soda bottle.
When the kernel pops, the white fluffy part you see is the starch from inside the kernel. This starch is stored food that the seed would use to grow into a plant. The kernel also has a part called the germ, which is the part that would develop into a new plant if the seed were to grow.
To understand better, imagine enlarging a popcorn seed. The hull is the outer shell that protects the seed and traps the steam. Inside, there’s the endosperm, which is the starch that fuels the seed’s growth. When the kernel pops, the starch bursts out, becoming the fluffy popcorn we love to eat!
Now that you know how popcorn works, you can enjoy your movie night even more! If you want to learn more cool things, check out other episodes of “How Things Work” and subscribe to Nat Geo Kids. See you next time!
Popcorn Experiment: With the help of an adult, try popping popcorn at home. Observe the kernels before and after they pop. What changes do you notice? Write down or draw what you see. Think about why the popcorn changes shape and texture. Can you hear the popping sound? Discuss with a friend or family member what you think is happening inside the kernel.
Kernel Investigation: Take a few unpopped popcorn kernels and carefully examine them with a magnifying glass. Can you see the hard shell? Try to imagine the steam building up inside. Draw a picture of what you think the inside of a kernel looks like before and after it pops. Label the hull, the starch, and the germ.
Popcorn Observation Walk: Next time you have popcorn, pay attention to the different shapes and sizes of the popped pieces. Do they all look the same? Why do you think some pieces are bigger or fluffier than others? Share your observations with your class or family and see if they noticed the same things.
