- All of the materials needed to conduct an awesome hands-on experiment more than once!
- An information sheet that includes simple and easy to follow directions along with a complete explanation of the Science behind the WOW!
- Ideas for other experiments that use household items and are related to the topic of the month.
- A Day in the Life.... Read about what its like to work as a scientist in the field. A different science related job is featured each month!
- Reasonable prices, starting at just $10.00 a month.
And, just for fun, here's a science experiment you can do with your kids to make ... Elephant Toothpaste! You didn't think they used regular toothpaste for elephant's teeth did you? Honestly, I don't know why this lab is called Elephant Toothpaste but I like the name!
Here is what you need:
** It is always a good idea to wear Safety Goggles when doing a lab like this to protect your eyes!!**
- A soda bottle
- 1/2 Cup Hydrogen Peroxide - The kind you get at any local store will work just fine.
- 1 tsp yeast
- A squirt of dish soap
- 2 tbs of hot (from the tap is fine) water
- Food Coloring (optional)
- Unless you're doing this outside (which is not a bad idea) you will probably want something like a cake pan or large plate under the soda bottle to catch the overflow.
Here is what you do:
- Place the soda bottle into the pan and pour the 1/2 cup of Hydrogen Peroxide into the bottle.
- Add a few drops of food coloring if you would like. This is a great chance to do a little coloring mixing.
- Add a couple of squirts of dish detergent
- Mix the yeast and the hot water in a separate dish.
- Pour the yeast mixture in the bottle.
- Stand back and watch!!
- It is okay to touch the mixture after it erupts. The mixture and the bottle will feel warm because of the chemical reaction that has taken place.
During a chemical reaction, a substance is changed into another substance. This means that the molecules that make up the substance are pulled apart and put back together to make molecules of a different substance. There are a number of ways to tell if a chemical reaction has taken place. You don't see all of them in every reaction. If a chemical reaction has taken place you might see the following, light, heat, a color change, gas, a new substance, an odor, and sound. Think about a fire, you see light, hear sound, feel heat, there's an odor, gas is produced and a new substance (ash) is produced. You couldn't possibly put the wood back together because it is no longer wood, it turned into all of the things you observed, some in the form of energy (light, heat, sound).
So why was this experiment a chemical reaction? Gas was definitely produced, as evidenced by the bubbles. Heat was created (some of the heat you were feeling was of course due to the warm water you used but heat actually was created, it is known as an exothermic reaction). On a molecular level Hydrogen Peroxide has one more oxygen atom than water. Water's chemical formula is H20 and Hydrogen Peroxide is H202. The yeast works as a catalyst causing the hydrogen peroxide to release its extra oxygen atom, thus creating a rush of oxygen (the bubbles) and turning the hydrogen peroxide into water (a new substance).
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