Baking soda

Snow Reaction in A Bag Science Experiment

Who knew that putting snow in a bag could make for a fun science experiment and give such a snow reaction. This is a great winter only kind of activity you definitely should try this winter.

Looking for something to do on a really cold day? How about grabbing a ziploc bag and some snow for a science experiment. It really simple. All you need is a ziploc bag, some snow, and an alka seltzer or two. If you bought some to make the lava lamps then you probably still have some on hand.

Snow Reaction in A Bag Science Experiment

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Now if you are like me, you don’t want to go outside in the freezing -42C windchill, even if it is just to fill a bag with some snow. That’s why we have kids though right? To make them do it.

I did draw a snowman face on our Ziploc bag, just to make it cuter. Fill it up with snow, but don’t pack it in tight, just fill it loosely. Before you seal the bag, add in a few alka seltzer.

I laid a thick towel over my table, just incase it exploded on us.

We watched it inflate over a period of about an hour. It slowly expanded as the snow melted and caused a reaction with the Alka Seltzer.

Alka-Seltzer is made of citric acid and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), which is a base. When the tablets are dry, the acid and base powders don’t mix, but as soon as they are immersed in water they mix and react to form carbon dioxide gas.

The same type of reaction is made when you are baking and you mix baking soda and vinegar together.

You can see just how much it expanded here:

After an hour, my kids stopped caring so we stopped. There was still one out of four tablets that wasn’t gone, so it would have continued as the snow melted. They gave it a solid hour which is pretty good.

While we had this going we watched an episode of Magic School Bus – season 1 episode 13 – Kicks Up a Storm. You can also find great science kits that dig deep into the science of weather if your kids are interested.

Wizard’s Brew Fun is Brewing

by Ashley Mullen

Talk about fun! I’m sure we all have pretended to make witches or wizard’s brew as a child. Now you actually can! I’m always looking for fun things to do with my kids, and with summer weather (just about) here, we can get outside and make a mess! And doing it outside makes clean up easy, we can usually just hose everything down. When we did the baking soda bubbles on the kitchen floor, I had a gritty mess to clean.

Wizard’s Brew

*This post may contain affiliate links. You can learn more about them in my disclosure policy.*

What you need:

vinegar
glass jar
food color
dish soap
baking soda
glitter (optional)

How to make a Wizard’s Brew:

You’re going to start with your jar (or in our case an old glass candle jar) half filled with vinegar, with a few drops of color added to it. Squeeze in some dish soap, give it a stir.

Now add a heaping spoonful of baking soda. I put our baking soda into a silicone bowl, mainly just to get it outside without losing it all on the walk out, but it also made it easy to dumping into the jar.

The dish soap makes it bubble rather than the quick fizz. A nice volcano eruption.

Now, anything mess related would not be complete without my children playing in the mess. They’re washable.

Wizard's Brew Science Experiment

Materials

vinegar
food color
dish soap
baking soda
glitter (optional)

Tools

large jar

Instructions

You're going to start with your jar (or in our case an old glass candle jar) half filled with vinegar, with a few drops of color added to it.
Squeeze in some dish soap, give it a stir.
Now add a heaping spoonful of baking soda. I put our baking soda into a silicone bowl, mainly just to get it outside without losing it all on the walk out, but it also made it easy to dumping into the jar.
Watch the magic. The dish soap makes it bubble rather than the quick fizz. A nice volcano eruption.

I’m already planning on trying this again. I have some small little jars we’ll be using, the more bubbles and wizard’s brew the better. Plus more colors, and if I can hold off until I get to the store, glitter.

This could be a great addition to a witches Halloween custom/set-up.

You can find my inspiration for this post and more in The Usborne Big Book of Science Things to Make and Do.

Baking Soda Bubbles

by Ashley Mullen

All children should know the wonders that can be found in your cupboard. There are so many “magic” ingredients hiding there in plain sight. Like vinegar and baking soda. And food color too, but their optional.

What you need:

Take a baking pan, or a bowl, or a pot, something with sides to hold it all in
a box of baking soda, the bigger the better
vinegar
food color
a cloth to wipe up spills
small bowl(s)
droppers or spoons

Cover the bottom of the pan with baking soda, a thick layer.

[Read more…] about Baking Soda Bubbles

Messy Friday: Baby It’s Cold Outside!

by Ashley Mullen

First I saw this article on CBC.ca stating the 5 Places that are Colder than Saskatchewan (where I live). Thursday it was -30, not including the wind chill. COLD!

Alert, Nunavut: -41.
The North Pole: -39.
Dzalinda, Russia (in Siberia): -51.
Vostak Station, Antarctica: -36.
Mars: -55.

Science Experiment with Lemon Juice & Vinegar

by Ashley Mullen

Yesterday at our local dollar store I saw some test tubes (they are suppose to be for doing shots) and I thought of the possibilities for us to have some messy fun. For our first science experiment we started simple. Baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, and cream of tarter in the test tubes, and vinegar and lemon juice in squeeze bottles.

Baking soda

Snow Reaction in A Bag Science Experiment

Snow Reaction in A Bag Science Experiment

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Wizard’s Brew Fun is Brewing

Wizard’s Brew