Easy, Exciting Glitter Science Experiment for Kids
Jaida, my six year old, has been in a kitchen science experiment mood lately. Every day she asks me if she can make a “mixture” aka strange concoction of anything she can get her hands on. The other day as she begged me for baking soda and vinegar, I had a fun idea for her. We came up with this fun glitter science experiment instead of traditional baking soda and vinegar.
Recommended Grade Level:
Materials Needed for Glitter Baking Soda and Vinegar Reaction
- Glitter
- Food Coloring
- Baking Soda
- Vinegar
- Dropper
- Flat Dish
The baking soda and vinegar experiment is old news to Jaida, but she still loves doing it over and over. This time I added something to get her even more excited. And so, glitter fireworks were created!
Take your container (with high sides to control the explosion) and place a few spots of food coloring in the bottom. I used red, blue and yellow because I was thinking of the 4th of July and white doesn’t show up as well as yellow.
Layer glitter over the bottom of your container. The more the better.
Cover the glitter and food coloring with a layer of baking soda. Make sure that you cannot see the glitter and food coloring at all, so that the fireworks are a surprise.
Add kids.Spoon the vinegar onto the baking soda and wait for the surprise. If you put a thick layer of baking soda it will take a few tries before the fireworks start appearing.
Once they discover the fireworks, they won’t want to stop. Be sure to keep some extra baking soda and vinegar on hand, so that they can continue the experiment. (We ended up using an entire box of baking soda and a quart of vinegar!)
Such a simple and easy to prepare activity that will have the kids oohing and aahing over the fireworks even without the 4th of July.
Do you have an activity that your kids love to do over and over? Tell me about it!
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STEM project ‘lesson’
There is a chemical reaction between baking soda and vinegar that produces Carbon Dioxide, which is an invisible gas. But the coloring and glitter help us to ‘see’ the gas as it is rising when the two combine.
What questions would I ask my child about this STEM project? I’m doing it with a girl scout troop but I want to kind of follow up with some “lesson” along with it. Ideas?
Brilliant! I can’t wait to try this with my granddaughter.
Enjoy!!