Kitchen Chemistry Volcanoes
Build miniature volcanoes and initiate a classic baking soda and vinegar chemical reaction demonstration to observe acid-base interactions and gas release.
- Takes
- 30 min
- Your setup
- 15 min prep
- Ages
- Ages 7–12
- Mess
- Some mess
- Cost
- $
- Where
- Indoors
How to do it
- 1Place the bottle/cup inside the tray. Mix baking soda, a squirt of dish soap, and red food coloring inside the 'volcano core'.
- 2Explain the concept of acid (vinegar) and base (baking soda) to the participant.
- 3Pour vinegar quickly into the volcano core and observe the eruption (carbon dioxide gas release).
- 4Discuss how altering the amounts of ingredients affects the size and duration of the eruption. Repeat the experiment.
What they're practising
- Scientific Inquiry
- Observation Skills
- Chemistry Fundamentals
- Measurement Accuracy