Happy St. Patrick's Day STEM Sparkers! I really wanted to do lots of cool Women's History Month posts and even a Pi Day post (happy belated Pi Day too), but my day job has discovered that I'm actually competent. I've been assigned new tasks, which is a good thing, but it leaves me wanting to nap, play video games, read books, and nap again in my free time, instead of working on the blog.
But I did manage to squeak in some science with Jack this week, and fizzy pots are the perfect science experiment to do with young (and older) kids and for any holiday that uses cauldrons. Not to self: find out if there is a Minecraft holiday; can reuse the cauldrons for Minecraft holidays (yes we've played a lot of Minecraft lately)!
You'll Need
Cauldron/Pot/Bowl
Baking Tray
Vinegar
Baking Soda
Food Coloring (optional)
Spoon (optional)
Measuring Cup (optional)
Instructions
1) Put cauldron on baking tray. Note that I got mini-cauldrons at the dollar store, but really any black pot or bowl works for the festive theme. We have this black plastic pistil and mortar bowls that would have also worked for this experiment.
2) Pour baking soda into cauldron.
3) Add food coloring if you desire.
4) Pour vinegar and watch the pot fizz!
Reminder that when I say edible science, I don't mean that I recommend you actually eat it-- just that if it's accidentally ingested by little one, they'll be okay. Also if you have an older child, it could be fun to make the pot fizz gold with yellow food dye and gold glitter.
Then a reminder about the science that is occurring: the science behind the fizzy pots is that when the baking soda and vinegar combine, they react to form carbon dioxide (CO2) gas. The gas presents as bubbles in the liquid and boom, we've got a fizzy pot! Happy STEM-ing!
