Summer may be around the corner, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to stop learning! There's no need for a science lab or fancy equipment with these DIY experiments—everything you need is probably in your kitchen cabinets.
Keep reading to check out these water-ful experiments, and get ready to learn all about the science operating behind the scenes.
Homemade Lava Lamp
What you need
- A wide container
- Vegetable oil
- Water
- Food coloring
- Alka-seltzer tablet
How to do it
- Fill your container about ¾ of the way with vegetable oil.
- Fill the remaining space with water and leave just 2–3 inches at the top. Notice how the water falls through the vegetable oil and settles at the bottom due to having a higher density.
- After the water has settled, add about 10 drops of food coloring to create the “lava.” These droplets will fall through the oil and sit on top of the water before bursting through the line.
- Drop in an Alka-seltzer tablet and watch the magic happen!
Why it works
The Alka-seltzer tablet produces carbon dioxide gas bubbles once it hits water. Since the combination of water and air is less dense than the oil, these bubbles rise to the top, which looks like a lava lamp when mixed with color! Once they reach the surface, the bubbles break and the gas is released into the air while the water sinks back down to the bottom. Then, the whole process starts over again!
Multicolor Flowers
What you need
- One cup
- White flowers
- Water
- Food coloring
How to do it
- Cut the stems of your white flowers. Ensure the cut is slanted and the stems are fairly short to help the color move quickly from stem to petal.
- Place the cut flowers into a cup of warm water.
- Add about 30 drops of food coloring to the water and wait. The color change can take about an hour, or you can set them aside at night and wake up to rainbow flowers in the morning!
Why it works
The star of this experiment is capillary action, which is the ability of liquids to travel through small spaces despite the direction of gravity. Even though water normally flows downwards, capillary action helps it flow up the flower stems. This is the same magic that happens when water gets drawn into a sponge and when your hair retains moisture after you get it wet.
Tornado in a Jar
What you need
- One mason jar
- 3 cups of water
- 1 teaspoon of dish soap
- 1 teaspoon of vinegar
- Glitter or small objects (optional)
How to do it
- Fill the mason jar with water and leave about an inch of space at the top.
- Pour in the dish soap and vinegar, then add any glitter.
- Secure the lid and swirl the jar for about 5 seconds. Set it down on the table to watch the tornado appear!
Why it works
When you swirl the jar, you’re creating a vortex just like in a real hurricane! The centripetal force causes the water to spin around that vortex, which looks just like a mini tornado.
