Mad Science Monday!

   Yay! It is Mad Science Monday again!
    It seems to be becoming a little popular in my house! The little munchkin is eager to try mixing things and see what happens, since we had our first Mad Science Monday last week. My 15 year old son also participates and is curious about how all the reactions occur and it leads him to do some self guided research. We have fun and he learns new things! Everyone wins!
    Today, we made what is called "Elephant Toothpaste". I first saw this idea at Fun At Home With Kids, who had seen it elsewhere. Just by looking at her pictures on her blog post, I knew my munchkin would love it and we had to try it.
    Doesn't this picture alone make you curious?!

Now this is a fairly simple experiment using just a few ingredients. 

Dry Active Yeast (I found mine in small packets of three at Walmart)

Warm Water

6% (20 volume) Hydrogen Peroxide (I bought a bottle at Sally Beauty Supply.)

(Regular Hydrogen Peroxide works too but the reaction is not as dramatic and fun)

Dawn Dish Soap

Funnel

Plastic bottle

Liquid Watercolor/Food Coloring

 (I used food coloring but next time I will use liquid watercolor so that it doesn't stain!)

AND of course: Adult Supervision ...and maybe some cute safety goggles!

*Follow all directions on the Hydrogen Peroxide bottle and be cautious when handling, as the concentration used will bleach clothes and can irritate/burn skin.

Here she was --ready to go!

She checked her "list" to make sure she had everything ready!

 So, here is what we did:
I helped her to measure out 1 teaspoon of yeast and 2 tablespoons of warm water. She mixed it together.

  I poured in 1/2 cup of the hydrogen peroxide, food coloring and a few squirts of Dawn dish soap into the bottle and swirled it altogether slowly.

  Using the funnel, she poured the yeast mixture into the bottle with big brother's help. (Look at that face!)

   We removed the funnel and watched the FUN reaction!

 

The reaction was exothermic, meaning it released heat. 

And sure enough, the bottle and the soft, puffy "elephant toothpaste" was warm when we touched it.              (It is safe to touch.)

We HAD to do it again!! This time we used blue food coloring:

 I LOVE the curious faces she was making the entire time!

 This 2nd time around, I ran a little low on hydrogen peroxide and so she watched it SLOWLY ooze out, and then decided to give the bottle a little squueze to help it come out faster!!

This was SOOOO much fun! She wants to do it again and play in it for awhile! 

(I did not allow her to play very long with it because I knew the food coloring would stain her hands)

 So, I have hydrogen peroxide on my shopping list! Oh, and liquid watercolors...

We WILL be doing this again!