Yeast Racers™: Turn fermentation into motion

Can living yeast power a car? Find out with the Yeast Racers™ Kit!

Feed yeast sugar and warm water, then watch as fermentation produces carbon dioxide gas. Capture that gas to power a miniature car and see biotechnology in motion.

Working with a group or class? Turn it into a race and see whose car travels the farthest. Learners can also test how variables such as temperature, sugar source, or fermentation time affect the results.

Along the way, explore how microorganisms convert sugars into useful products and discover how fermentation connects to agriculture, food production, biomanufacturing, and the bioeconomy.

It’s a fun, visible, hands-on way to bring biology, agricultural science, and engineering together.

WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD. Children under 8 yrs. can choke or suffocate on uninflated or broken balloons. Adult supervision required. Keep uninflated balloons from children. Discard broken balloons at once.
Contains natural rubber latex

For this one-day science project, you will:

1. learn about the fermentation process and its applications.
2. activate yeast.
3. visualize the release of the gas created by the yeast by filling up a balloon,
4. see how the products from microorganisms can be utilized by using the inflated balloons to power and propel a car

This kit comes with all the scientific supplies you need to complete the experiment. You will need to provide some common materials from your home/school to complete the experiment: tape, water and scissors.

• The Individual-size kit comes with enough supplies to run the experiment once.

• The group-size kit comes with enough supplies to run the experiment eight times (enough for eight groups of students).

Ingredient note: Contains an antifoam agent with sulphites. Not for consumption.

You need to provide:
• Tape
• 150 mL Room temperature water (per car experiment)
• Scissors
• Measuring cup or the like to measure 150 mL of water
• Tupperware or a bowl (used for a warm water bath)

No necessary laboratory equipment is required.

Cleaning and safety supplies are not included in the kit. Necessary safety and cleaning supplies are latex or nitrile gloves and a chlorinated bleach cleaner or a 10% solution of chlorinated bleach in a spray bottle (you can make this by adding 9 parts water to 1 part bleach in a spray bottle). You can add a Mini Safety Set to your kit, which includes gloves and a reusable plastic apron to protect your clothes.

For more information about safety, setup, and cleanup, you can have a look at the experiment's instruction manual linked in the Resources section below and at the "Practicing safe science" page.

Shipping Times

Experiment kits are shipped 1-10 working days after you place your order. If you require yours for a specific date or event, please contact us before or with your order # so that we can try to make it happen for you! ☺︎ 

Storage

This experiment kit can be stored at room temperature (out of direct sunlight) or in the refrigerator.

For any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to us - contact us