One of our focuses at the Bob Burdette Center is academic enrichment. We strive to provide our students with academic support outside of the classroom. One way we provide academic enrichment is through STEM activities. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) activities are a good way to make learning fun! While at the Bob Burdette Center, students get the opportunity to participate in multiple STEM lessons. However, learning does not have to end when children leave our program for the day. Today we are providing a STEM activity that can be done at home with things typically found in the kitchen.
Homemade Lava Lamps
Homemade lava lamps are a neat science experiment that are fun and educational! They can be made with just four things.
What you Will Need:
- A clear container (ie. a jar, a plastic water bottle, a cup)
- Water
- Food Coloring
- Tablet of Alka-Seltzer
Steps:
- Fill up the clear container ⅓ of the way with water.
- Add a few drops of food coloring to the water.
- Fill the rest of the container with cooking oil.
- Break the tablet of Alka-Seltzer into 3 or 4 pieces and then drop it into your clear container. You should be able to start to see a reaction in the container.
- When the Lava Lamp looks just about complete you can add another tablet of Alka-Seltzer in and restart the reaction.
This cool science experiment is something that can be easily done at home with just a few materials. It works due to water having a higher density than oil so the two liquids cannot mix. The Alka-Seltzer sinks through the oil and dissolves in the water releasing carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide creates bubbles which carry a mix of food color and water up to the top where the bubbles pop and the water sinks to the bottom again.
Jocelyn’s Science Lab on Youtube has a great video tutorial on how to make Homemade Lava Lamps if you would like a visual to go along with our instructions.