When I saw the naked egg experiment on Pinterest I just knew I had to try it with my girls. This one even fascinated me and my husband! To do it with your kids you'll need: One to two raw eggs A see through glass or container Vinegar Corn syrup Water Spoon Time Time is the biggest issue with this experiment. Each phase takes 24-48 hours to complete. My girls got a bit anxious at first and actually broke two eggs! 1) Start by gently placing a raw egg into a clear glass or container. 2) Next add vinegar to the glass until the egg is covered. Pretty much right away you'll notice bubbles forming on the egg. This is the beginning of the vinegar (an acid) eating away the egg's calcium shell. 3) Leave the egg alone for 24 hours. 4) After 24 hours, gently pour out the vinegar. 5) Grab your egg and gently rinse it under water. You'll notice that the shell is beginning to rub or peal off. DO NOT FORCE IT! My girls learned the hard way not to pick too … [Read more...]
Magic Dancing Ghost
Tomorrow is October 1st which means it's time for a little Halloween fun! Today's activity is magic dancing ghosts but in all reality, there's no magic behind these ghosts, there's science! It's all about static electricity. Magic dancing ghosts make the perfect science activity for kids. To make your own dancing ghosts you'll need: Toilet paper Pen or marker Black balloon (color optional) Dark room (optional) Flash light (optional) 1) Start by drawing small ghosts on toilet paper then cutting them out. 2) Next, blow up your balloon. 3) Rub the balloon on anything that will create static electricity (we prefer to rub it on hair!) 4) Hover the balloon over the toilet paper and watch it dance! For more fun, take your set-up into a dark room with a flash light. Shine the flashlight onto the ghost but avoid the black balloon. If you get it right, it will look like the ghost is floating on its own! … [Read more...]
Vinegar Ice Cubes + Baking Soda
The other day when we were learning about primary and secondary colors and having a grand time with our colored ice cubes I got busy cleaning our kitchen afterwards. I saw that I had a box of baking soda out still from our volcano in a bottle activity and wondered to myself if you could freeze vinegar? Combining these two activities of freezing liquids and using baking soda...hmmmm, I just wondered! Turns out you can freeze vinegar and it freezes really well! (mental note to self!) I dumped a little baking soda into our flat plastic bowls (the ones I use when we batter fish) and grabbed our tray of vinegar from the freezer. This was a great activity for my kids as they love the feel of the bubbles that vinegar and baking soda make. They kept adding more and more vinegar ice cubes to the baking soda to create more and more bubbles. I am pretty sure they played with the whole thing for well over an hour. … [Read more...]
Primary Colors to Secondary Colors
The other day my son asked me how to make the color green. I simply replied "blue and yellow." No sooner than I could spit the words out I realized that answer would not suffice. He was going to want a better answer than just the colors that make green. We got to talking about primary colors and secondary colors. I explained to him that you cannot make primary colors and that they consist of Red, Yellow, and Blue. With those three colors you can make secondary colors consisting of Purple, Green, and orange. I also knew that my explanation would need some sort of visual back up (that's just the way his mind works) so I pondered what I could do other than just break out the crayons. I grabbed my ice-cube trays and filled them up with water. I added a small drop of yellow coloring to 4 of the cubes, a small drop of red to 4 other cubes, and a small drop of blue to the remaining 4 cubes. Four cubes of each of the primary colors. I popped them into my freezer and waited the 45 minutes … [Read more...]
Volcano in a Bottle
Making a volcano in a bottle is a great (and fun) way to teach kids about chemical reactions and also teach them about volcanos. Here's what you will need: an old soda bottle or water bottle (I used an old wine bottle) 1 Table spoon of baking soda a drop of food coloring 1/4 cup vinegar water Place your bottle in the kitchen sink (or in your yard). Make sure the bottle is filled about 2/3 the way with water. Create a funnel or use one you have to add the baking soda. Pour in the 1/4 cup of vinegar and food coloring and watch it erupt! Fun facts: Mixing vinegar and baking soda produces carbon dioxide....this is the same gas that is found under the earth which causes a volcano to erupt. Have you made a volcano in a bottle with your kids yet? … [Read more...]
Make Rainbows on Your Walls
Technically it's still winter. The first official day of spring isn't until tomorrow. With the unseasonably warm weather we've been having in Minnesota over the past week however (80s in March!!), it's been feeling down right summerish! This has made me and the girls want to do things to get rid of those winter blues...so...in honor of St. Patrick's Day and to get us in the mood for spring and Easter in a few weeks, we decided to make rainbows on our walls. Making rainbows is great way to cheer you up no matter what time of year it is. It can even be done on a rainy day! You'll need: A glass pan or jar A mirror that fits in the pan or jar Water A white wall or ceiling (or white paper to cover a colored wall/ceiling) 1) Pour the water into your glassware. The exact amount doesn't matter. I filled ours up about half-way. 2) Put your mirror in the water. 3) Place it in a sunny spot. 4) Play with tilting the mirror until you see rainbows form on the … [Read more...]
