Chemistry

The Ultimate List of Baking Soda & Vinegar Experiments

By Marnie Craycroft Filed Under: Activities, Science Tagged With: Chemistry, Elementary, Kindergarten, Preschool This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

This post delivers the ultimate amazing list of baking soda and vinegar experiments for kids. We're talking baking soda and vinegar with balloons, rocket boosting baking soda and vinegar, color changing experiments, and so much more! Are you ready to dig into these ROCK star baking soda and vinegar experiments? Yeah, me, too…

The Science Behind Baking Soda & Vinegar

Baking Soda and vinegar react chemically we know that much simply by observing the experiments. We can see the chemical reaction. What it is about the two ingredients that react in such phenomenally cool ways?

The science is that baking soda and vinegar react with each other because of an acid-base reaction. Baking soda is a bicarbonate (NaHCO3) and vinegar is an acetic acid (HCH3COO). One of the products this reaction creates is carbon dioxide, which makes the bubbles.

Baking Soda and Vinegar Experiments for Kids

Fizzing Colors from Happy Hooligans is not only fun science learning but it is also great fine motor skills work. This baking soda and vinegar experiment with food coloring adds a bit of pizazz to a child's day.

Busy Toddler adds a bit of a twist on the dropper food color experiment by Happy Hooligans. She presents the baking soda and vinegar activity with hidden colors. By adding this element of surprise, this activity has kids at ‘hello'.

My sons LOVED this baking soda & vinegar experiment. Chelsey from Buddy & Buddy nails this one with her exploding baggies.

Along the same lines, Sarah from Frugal Fun for Boys & Girls created a rocket baking soda & vinegar experiment for her kids. Totally out of this world!

Katie from Preschool Inspirations tops the cake with her color changing baking soda & vinegar experiment.

A few years ago we explore chemistry with a baking soda and vinegar experiment with balloons. To celebrate Earth Day we use an earth balloon and really made the scientific point about expanding air.

Maria Montessori & Science

What is a scientist?… We give the name scientist to the type of man who has felt experiment to be a means guiding him to search out the deep truth of life, to lift a veil from its fascinating secrets, and who, in this pursuit, has felt arising within him a love for the mysteries of nature, so passionate as to annihilate the thought of himself. ~ Dr. Montessori

More Easy Science Experiments for Kids with Baking Soda & Vinegar

Kim from Life Over Cs does a fizzy baking soda and vinegar experiment with ice!

Darcy at Darcy and Brian creates a Melting Rainbow Baking Soda and Vinegar experiment.

I quickly added this baking soda and vinegar activity to our list. Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls made hot ice from a few items you likely have in your home at this current moment.

Life Over Cs presents us with a playdough volcano baking soda & vinegar experiment.

The Pinterested Parent takes her baking soda and vinegar experiment a step further by creating art from the volcano eruptions!

Bitz and Giggles created electric eels twist on the baking soda and vinegar experiment!

What's Next After All this Baking Soda & Vinegar Experimental Learning?

Try to add other substances such as carbonated water, hydrogen peroxide, or dish soap. Observe how the eruption changes.

Make elephant toothpaste
Study physics with these science experiments for kids
Join Steve Spangler STEM Lab Club (AMAZING!!)
Black Marker Coffee Filter Experiment & Science of Colors
Science Activity with Milk & Food Coloring

Have You Heard of Magic Sand?

By Marnie Craycroft Filed Under: Activities Tagged With: Chemistry This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Have you ever played with magic sand?

We first heard of this amazing substance through our amazing monthly kit with Steve Spangler Science Club. His monthly kit is by far the best out there when it comes to kids science. You will love every single monthly delivery! Each thematic kit includes several activities to go along with the theme, building upon one another.

Seriously magic sand is ridiculously cool. Even when it gets wet, the sand stays dry. True story.

Do you want to know the secret?

Magic Sand is the Coolest

Here is what you need:

Magic Sand
Water
A bowl

Magic sand looks like typical sand. Here is the trick. Not only is it dyed a beautiful color, but it is also coated with a substance that repels water. The coating keeps the sand dry even when it is immersed in water! You can build all sorts of creations underwater with magic sand.

When you're done creating with the magic sand, you can dump the water and voila you have dry sand once again!

What happens with this sand is pretty darn magical. Kids truly enjoy hands-on science.

Kids go nuts with the absolute coolness of this material.

There are a few science experiments that my boy have been more intrigued by…Learning about Electricity is one and possible learning about the science of friction.

Keep children interested and intrigued by asking questions:

What is happening with the sand?
Why can we mild the sand?
Who does this sand differ from the sand we play with at the beach?
What do you think might be causing or helping the sand to become moldable?

Baking Soda and Vinegar Experiment with Balloons – Earth Day Science

By Marnie Craycroft Filed Under: Activities Tagged With: Chemistry, Earth Day This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

What better science experiment to do when discussing the earth's atmosphere than the classic baking soda & vinegar experiment? This idea I credit to my middle son. I bought adorable earth balloons and stashed them away in my secret science shelves (also known as “my pantry”).

My boys would choose to do science experiments all day long and that is quite all right with me. They tinker, they build, and they iterate along the way. This type of activity is critical. The iteration as an experiment fails is key to embracing failure a la Carol Dweck's Growth Mindset approach.

Baking Soda & Vinegar Reaction

What happens when you mix baking soda & vinegar?

My second born discovered these balloons and probably thanks to some youtube video begged to have access to the baking soda and vinegar. My sons cannot get enough of science. We are a lab on most days experimenting with various substances and reactions. Celebrate Earth Day with this fun baking soda and vinegar experiment with balloons!

How could a mom resist? Really?

Seriously, look at that face? Such awe. I can't resist.

Baking Soda Vinegar Science

This experiment is so incredibly easy to put together. Plus the learning is hands-on and kids' jaws drop when they observe the reaction.

Science Materials

Earth balloons
Cup of white vinegar
Cup of Baking Soda
Funnel
Plastic Bottle

Baking Soda and Vinegar – Science Process

Gather your materials
Place the balloon opening around the opening of the funnel
Pour a cup of baking soda using a funnel to fill the balloon half way or so
Use the funnel to fill the plastic bottle with a cup of white vinegar
Place the balloon opening around the mouth of the bottle
Hold the balloon up so the baking soda falls into the bottle
Observe & grab some paper towels

Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under thy observation in life.
~ Marcus Aurelius

The Science Behind Baking Soda & Vinegar Chemistry

Baking soda and vinegar have chemistry. Furthermore, we know that these two substances react with each other because of an acid-base reaction. Baking soda is bicarbonate (NaHCO3) and vinegar is acetic acid (HCH3COO). One of the products this reaction creates is carbon dioxide, which makes the bubbles.

When the baking soda meets the vinegar, there is a chemical reaction as carbon dioxide gas is created and fills the balloon causing it to inflate. Carbon dioxide is an important gas in the earth's atmosphere. Carbon Dioxide plays a vital role in regulating the earth's temperature. Baking soda and vinegar have an acid-based reaction, which results in the gas that fills the balloon.

Carbon Dioxide & the Earth's Atmosphere

Before I go I have to equip you with some back pocket scientific knowledge to impart on your children.

What is the role of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere?

Well, I am glad that you asked because carbon dioxide plays several important roles in our environment. First of all, carbon dioxide is found in the air but also in water as part of the carbon cycle. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that traps infrared radiation heat in the atmosphere. Furthermore, it plays a crucial role in the weathering of rocks. Carbon dioxide is the carbon source for plants.

Why is Carbon Dioxide So Important?

Carbon dioxide plays a critical part in plant and animal processes. Examples include photosynthesis and respiration. Photosynthesis occurs as green plants convert carbon dioxide and water into food compounds, such as glucose, and oxygen.

How Do Humans Interact with Carbon Dioxide?

Carbonated beverages, of course! Well, that is certainly one example but there are many additional ways human being use carbon dioxide. We also rely on carbon dioxide in baking. For instance, it is released by baking powder or yeast makes cakes and other delicious food items rise.

Other uses include putting out fires with fire extinguishers. Carbon dioxide is denser than air so works well to extinguish the fire as it suffocates or blankets the fire because it is heavier. If oxygen cannot get to a fire, it will die out.

Carbon dioxide exists predominantly in the form of gas, but it also has a solid and a liquid form. It can only be solid when temperatures are below -78 ^oC. The solid form of carbon dioxide, commonly known as Dry Ice, is used in theatres to create stage fogs, to do super cool science experiments, and make things like “magic potions” bubble.

Liquid carbon dioxide mainly exists when carbon dioxide is dissolved in water. Carbon dioxide is only water-soluble when pressure is maintained. After pressure drops the CO2 gas will try to escape to air. This event is characterized by the CO2 bubbles forming into the water.

{Source: https://www.lenntech.com/carbon-dioxide.htm}

Further Baking Soda & Vinegar Learning

What happens when you switch up the ratios a bit?

Or what happens if you add dish soap or food coloring to the baking soda & vinegar explosion?

If you want lots of fizz, try adding a liquid soap and see how the reaction changes.

Does more vinegar mean more bubbles? You bet it does!

If you enjoy science as we do, check out these popular posts:

Magnetism Science Experiments for Kids: Magnetic Board

By Marnie Craycroft Filed Under: Science Tagged With: Chemistry This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Have you heard of Playdough to Plato? It is an amazing resource for parents and teachers. Malia, the founder, is ridiculously talented at designed effective and beautiful printables for preschool, kindergarten, and lower elementary aged children. I am really excited to be a part of the Playdough to Plato team as a Science contributor. Once a month, I will post a science activity on Playdough to Plato's blog. I hope that you “tune in” to the post. I will post a teaser (like this one today) to remind you. My inaugural post is a DIY Magnetic Board! The Science of Magnetism! Enjoy!

Science Experiments for Kids

Remember the Wooly Willy magnetic board? C’mon, I know you do. As a child I spent hours working to get his facial hair just right. The simple, engaging kids’ science toy was a mesmerizing way to learn about magnetism. Guess what?! Now you can make your own DIY magnetic board just like the Wooly Willy.

My main issue with Wooly Willy was always that I wanted a blank page to do my own decorating on the paper. This easy version will give your children a lot more creative license to design a piece of (temporary) artwork to their own unique personality and talent.

This activity is easy and inexpensive to put together. Trust me, your children will love this activity. It is truly the activity that keeps on giving. Click on over to Playdough to Plato for the full tutorial with inquiry based learning ideas and the science behind this activity! So glad you're here! Talk to you soon!

Marnie

How to Do Awesome Dry Ice Experiments that Make Learning Fun

By Marnie Craycroft Filed Under: Activities, Science Tagged With: Chemistry This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Wondering what to do with dry ice? This post includes three easy & cool dry ice experiments to introduce children to the amazing science behind this awesome substance! My sons are almost six and four and a half years old. Both are obsessed with science. At this point what I am introducing basic science concepts. My main goal is to ignite a desire to learn more. I want my children to ask questions and to want to do the “next” thing.

One additional goal at this juncture is to introduce the idea of scientific thinking and design.

Quite simply asking the child:

What is the plan?
What do you think might happen?
Why?
What could/should we do next?
How would it change if we did xyz?

SAFETY TIP: Don't handle dry ice directly with your hands because it is really, really cold and will burn skin on contact. Therefore, use tongs or heavy duty gloves. Above all else, you can't play with dry ice.

Check out these Science Activities

Compare and Contrast

You need two bowls, regular ice, and dry ice. We order groceries from Amazon Fresh. They always provide bags of dry ice in our cooler items. Place a bit of regular ice in one bowl and a bit of dry ice in the other bowl. Set a timer for ten, fifteen, and then sixty minutes. Observe what happens to the ice in each bowl.

TIP: Use a large short storage container as a base for this activity, or take it outside!

Warm Water & Dry Ice

You need a bowl or wide-mouthed jar or vase. Use your tongs to place a chunk of dry ice into the container. Use a measuring cup, or simply a drinking glass, with warm water. Pour the warm water into the container with dry ice. Watch what happens, examine, and take notes. If the “smoke” is dying down, simply add more warm water.

What is Dry Ice?

Dry ice is the solid form (frozen) of carbon dioxide. It turns into a carbon dioxide gas instead of a liquid as it breaks down. Carbon Dioxide is the major gas in our planet's atmosphere. When dry ice “melts”, it turns directly into carbon dioxide gas. Dry ice sublimates, which means it breaks down directly into gas rather than a liquid form. Sublimation occurs at the rate of 5-10 pounds per a 24 hour period in a cooler or ice chest!

What is the Temperature of Dry ice?

A block of dry ice has a surface temperature of -109.3 degrees. For this reason, many people and companies use the substance to keep products cold.

Where Can I Purchase Dry Ice?

Lucky for us, we order groceries and so often have dry ice on hand. However, you can buy dry at local grocery stores such as Safeway. Even Walmart, Target, and Costco carry dry ice. Therefore, you want to pick it up as close to the time when you'll be using the dry ice. The reason is that it has a short life due to constantly changing form from solid to gas. As a result, you can't really store dry ice.

After identifying where to buy dry ice, you want to be certain to buy it in block form for the purposes of doing science experiments. Furthermore, dry ice won't cost you much and you don't need a ton of it. Typically it'll cost somewhere around $2 per pound.

Also, be sure to have a carrying vessel, such as a cooler, on hand into which you'll put dry ice. Above all else, besides not directly handling the dry ice, be careful about placing dry ice in your freezer (like I wouldn't do it if I were you) because it can mess with your freezer.

Pick up pieces of dry ice with tongs to protect your skin.

Warm Water, Dish Soap, & Food Coloring

Check out this dry ice bubble!! We used the same approach as above but added a few drops of dish soap and food coloring to make our dry ice bubble. The result is simply amazing to watch.

In this science experiment, dry ice does not turn into a cloud of gas. Instead, the soap bubbles trap the cloud resulting in a great effect that kids love! The dry ice bubbles burst either on their own or with the help of little hands, allowing the cloud to escape.

This version of the science experiments using liquid dish soap to make a dry ice bubble was by far my favorite.

Other Dry Ice Experiments

Use really hot water
Put dry ice into a balloon (you will need to use the pellets or break the block of ice)
Use ethanol & freeze a flower
Use a plastic cup, plastic wrap, & rubber bands to make smoke rings

Resources for Further Science Learning

Check out these AMAZING Dry Ice Experiments

Marnie

Black Marker Coffee Filter Experiment – Science of Colors

By Marnie Craycroft Filed Under: Activities, Science Tagged With: Chemistry, Elementary, Kindergarten, Preschool This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Is black a color? How does paint or ink get its color? We were curious. So, we did the classic black marker experiment to discover and observe a bit more about color.

Black Marker Coffee Filter Experiment

Black Marker Experiment Materials

white coffee filter
bowl
water
black marker (not permanent)

Steps to Black Marker Coffee Filter Experiment

design the edge of the coffee filter
roll the filter into a cone
pour water into the bowl (doesn't have to be a lot)
place the filter into the bowl with water in it
observe what happens as the water travels up the filter

Questions to Ask the Children about the Science of Colors

What are the colors of the rainbow?
What do you think will happen when we place the filter into the water?
What will happen when the water makes it to the black marker?
Does one color move more quickly than the other? Why?
How many colors do you see?
Why does combining many colors of ink make black?
Who would use this science? Why? (Biochemists)

Science Behind Black Marker Experiment

Water separates the various pigments of the black ink

The colors' speed depend on the size of the color molecule and how strongly the pigment is attracted to the paper

Because the pigments have varying strengths and sizes, they separate when the water hits the black ink

The science is called chromatography where a gas or liquid flows through a stationary substance

The ingredients within the substance move at different rates

Paint, for example, becomes a color by absorbing some of the colors in white light and reflecting other colors. Blue looks blue because it reflects the blue part of light and absorbs all other colors. When you mix many colors, each color added absorbs more light, leaving less light to reflect to your eye. So, when many colors are mixed together, we have black.

What Colors Make Black?

According to WikiHow, “Black paint can be made with equal parts red, yellow, and blue paint mixed together on a palette. You can also mix complementary colors such as blue and orange, red and green, or yellow and purple. Mixing blue and brown can also result in a rich black.”

What Next?

Experiment with different colors
Experiment with different types of markers
Experiment with different types of paper

Read about Color

White Rabbit's Color Book
Mouse Paint
Little Blue and Little Yellow
Green
Blue Goose
Charley Harper Colors