AKA Bubbling Potion

Quick! It is blazing hot outside and the pool is unexpectedly CLOSED! Time for Plan B…

Oh no! What is Plan B?!?!

Does this ever happen to you?? 🙋🏼 That was totally me this morning! But, thankfully, I have my #ScienceWeek theme bin all pre-loaded with all the ingredients for tons of experiments.

I spend a little time over the weekend gathering up all the ingredients and tools for the projects we are going to tackle over the coming week. Then I tuck them all into one bin. Finally, I add a list of all the activities I just gathered necessities for and place that on top of the supplies… because, #mombrain is real. I can be SUPER EXCITED about an activity and one hour and 50 requests for snacks later say “why did I lay out those rubber bands again?”

This experiment is a classic that keeps being cool. I remember back in the 90’s we saw a fun volcano experiment in a magazine and my mom actually let us try it out. It was THE COOLEST thing! This rainbow volcano plays on that same simple vinegar and baking soda chemical reaction but it adds the fun of rainbow colors!

Ingredients:

• Mason Jars (or glasses)
• Baking Soda
• Vinegar
• Measuring spoon
• Food Coloring (optional for the reaction, required for the rainbow fun!)

First, measure the baking soda into the glasses. We used about 2TBS in each glass jar.

Then add 5-10 drops of food coloring to each one. Note – I didn’t have regular food coloring on hand so I used gel colors. The gel has a more potent color so you need much less.

And my son just reminded me that we should have had one more jar for indigo so it wasn’t really a true rainbow after all. 🤣

Now check the book to see if you are doing it right so far… 🤣 My son is all about doing things “correctly”. He read this book in his free time a few weeks back and was so ecstatic to show me you could really make a “bubbling potion”. His excitement after just reading about the reaction was why I added this activity to our #ScienceWeek list. It is a childhood must!

Now back to the experiment…. 😉 Measure out the vinegar into an easily pourable container. We used 2 2-cup measuring cups so that each kiddo could pour at the same time. The reaction happens super quickly! You will want to pour in a line down the center of the jars rather quickly to see them all bubble up at the same time.

Check out those fun bright colors!

Of course, my kiddos were a bit disappointed that the reaction didn’t last longer… but they had a blast pouring and mixing colors before clean up time.

Also, check out the epic mess. Do yourself a favor, do not try this inside your house, unless you have the jars inside a bin to catch the overflow. No one wants to be cleaning vinegar and food coloring off your nice white rug!

This was a perfect experiment for a sunny and warm summer day! Simple prep. Easy clean up with a hose. Bright fun colors. Impressed kiddos who talked about “bubbling potions” for the rest of the day!

Happy Experimenting!