Saturday Morning Science
Saturday Morning Science - Self Inflating Balloon
We’re going to put chemistry to work in this experiment. We’re going to use chemistry to inflate a balloon.
The materials are simple: A balloon, baking soda, vinegar, an empty soda bottle, a spoon and a funnel. When we combine baking soda and vinegar a chemical reaction occurs and the mixture releases a gas.
The gas inflates the balloon. Please make sure an adult is present and helping with this experiment.
Check out our incredible Boredom Busting In-Person Science Experiments.
The materials are simple: A balloon, baking soda, vinegar, an empty soda bottle, a spoon and a funnel. When we combine baking soda and vinegar a chemical reaction occurs and the mixture releases a gas.
The gas inflates the balloon. Please make sure an adult is present and helping with this experiment.
Check out our incredible Boredom Busting In-Person Science Experiments.
Saturday Morning Science - Orange Fizz
This is another chemistry experiment but it’s a little different than what we normally do. In this experiment, we’re going to combine an acid with a base and we’re going to do it in our mouth!
The materials are simple: An orange, a knife to slice the orange, baking soda, a couple of paper plates and a teaspoon.
Hint: You might want to have a glass of water handy for the end.
Please make sure an adult is present and helping with this experiment.
Click here for our incredible Boredom Busting In-Person Science Experiments.
The materials are simple: An orange, a knife to slice the orange, baking soda, a couple of paper plates and a teaspoon.
Hint: You might want to have a glass of water handy for the end.
Please make sure an adult is present and helping with this experiment.
Click here for our incredible Boredom Busting In-Person Science Experiments.
Saturday Morning Science - Growing Plants at Home
This episode includes an update on how my celery and potato did!
Plants are amazing. Given any opportunity, many plants grow and thrive.
In this experiment we are going to take some left over food from the pantry and refrigerator - namely an older than we’d like potato and some celery that’s no longer fit for a salad.
We’re going to put both of these plants in some potting soil (dirt would work just as well) and leave them on the windowsill for a couple of weeks.
Please make sure an adult is present and helping with this experiment.
Plants are amazing. Given any opportunity, many plants grow and thrive.
In this experiment we are going to take some left over food from the pantry and refrigerator - namely an older than we’d like potato and some celery that’s no longer fit for a salad.
We’re going to put both of these plants in some potting soil (dirt would work just as well) and leave them on the windowsill for a couple of weeks.
Please make sure an adult is present and helping with this experiment.
Saturday Morning Science -
Making an invisible Fire Extinguisher
Today, we’re going to make an invisible fire extinguisher.
In order for a candle to burn, oxygen must be present in the atmosphere. This experiment shows what happens if we replace the oxygen with carbon dioxide.
The supplies are simple: Vinegar, baking soda, a tea-light candle, a tall glass, a short glass, a spoon and matches or a lighter.
BTW - You might want to use less vinegar and baking soda than I did or you might want to make a mess just like I did.
Since this experiment involves fire, it is critical that a parent helps with this.
In order for a candle to burn, oxygen must be present in the atmosphere. This experiment shows what happens if we replace the oxygen with carbon dioxide.
The supplies are simple: Vinegar, baking soda, a tea-light candle, a tall glass, a short glass, a spoon and matches or a lighter.
BTW - You might want to use less vinegar and baking soda than I did or you might want to make a mess just like I did.
Since this experiment involves fire, it is critical that a parent helps with this.
Saturday Morning Science - Density
Today, we’re going to experiment with density.
Density is an idea that everyone is failure with even if they don’t think of it as “density.” Think about a rock and a styrofoam ball - They’re about the same size, but the rock is much heavier than the ball. That’s because the rock as more mass - it has more “stuff” in it than the styrofoam ball.
The supplies are simple: Two eggs, two glasses of water, some salt and a spoon.
BTW - You can still cook the eggs after the experiment - no need to waste two perfectly good eggs.
Density is an idea that everyone is failure with even if they don’t think of it as “density.” Think about a rock and a styrofoam ball - They’re about the same size, but the rock is much heavier than the ball. That’s because the rock as more mass - it has more “stuff” in it than the styrofoam ball.
The supplies are simple: Two eggs, two glasses of water, some salt and a spoon.
BTW - You can still cook the eggs after the experiment - no need to waste two perfectly good eggs.
Saturday Morning Science - Electromagnets
Today, we’re going to build a magnet that you can turn on and off. It’s an electromagnet and it works with electricity.
There are all sorts of really cool applications for electromagnets in the world like motors, remote door locks, electric bells and buzzers, MRI machines and even cell phones.
This is a parent-lead experiment. We will need to strip the insulation off the wire and that’s a job for an adult.
The supplies are simple: A 9 volt battery, some insulated wire, wire strippers or knife & scissors, a nail, and a few paperclips.
There are all sorts of really cool applications for electromagnets in the world like motors, remote door locks, electric bells and buzzers, MRI machines and even cell phones.
This is a parent-lead experiment. We will need to strip the insulation off the wire and that’s a job for an adult.
The supplies are simple: A 9 volt battery, some insulated wire, wire strippers or knife & scissors, a nail, and a few paperclips.
Saturday Morning Science - Milk Fireworks
Today, we’re going to do milk fireworks! It’s similar to the surface tension experiment we did previously. Surface tension is what we call a liquids attraction for itself. Water molecules are highly attracted to other water molecules and tend to clump up next to each other. That’s the reasons water forms into droplets - like rain drops.
Milk is a mixture of mostly water (about 87%) and fats/proteins (about 13%). This is a kind of mixture called a colloid. Colloid means some substances are suspended in another substance. In this case, we have fat and proteins suspended in water.
The supplies are very basic: A plate, milk, food coloring, some Q-tips, and some dishwashing liquid.
Milk is a mixture of mostly water (about 87%) and fats/proteins (about 13%). This is a kind of mixture called a colloid. Colloid means some substances are suspended in another substance. In this case, we have fat and proteins suspended in water.
The supplies are very basic: A plate, milk, food coloring, some Q-tips, and some dishwashing liquid.
Saturday Morning Science - Surface Tension
Surface tension is not something we think about every day, but it’s there, right in front of us, doing it’s surface-tensiony thing all the time.
Surface tension is what we call a liquids attraction for itself. Water molecules are highly attracted to other water molecules and tend to clump up next to each other. That’s the reasons water forms into droplets - like rain drops.
In these experiments we are going to “float” pepper and a paperclip on water. They are not really floating, but resting on the surface of the water. They are being held up by the surface tension of the water
The supplies are very basic: A plate, water, pepper, a paperclip, fork, some Q-tips, and some dishwashing liquid.
Surface tension is what we call a liquids attraction for itself. Water molecules are highly attracted to other water molecules and tend to clump up next to each other. That’s the reasons water forms into droplets - like rain drops.
In these experiments we are going to “float” pepper and a paperclip on water. They are not really floating, but resting on the surface of the water. They are being held up by the surface tension of the water
The supplies are very basic: A plate, water, pepper, a paperclip, fork, some Q-tips, and some dishwashing liquid.
Saturday Morning Science - Growing Plants at Home
Plants are amazing. Given any opportunity, many plants grow and thrive.
In this experiment we are going to take some left over food from the pantry and refrigerator - namely an, older than we’d like, potato and some celery that’s no longer fit for a salad. We’re going to put both of these plants in some potting soil (dirt would work just as well) and leave them on the windowsill for a couple of weeks.
Please make sure an adult is present and helping with this experiment. Later, I will post an update to show how my plants did…or didn’t do,
In this experiment we are going to take some left over food from the pantry and refrigerator - namely an, older than we’d like, potato and some celery that’s no longer fit for a salad. We’re going to put both of these plants in some potting soil (dirt would work just as well) and leave them on the windowsill for a couple of weeks.
Please make sure an adult is present and helping with this experiment. Later, I will post an update to show how my plants did…or didn’t do,
Saturday Morning Science - Electrolysis of Water
Water is made up of two elements: hydrogen (H) and Oxygen (O). The chemical formula for water is H2O: Two atoms of hydrogen bonded to one atom of oxygen. In this experiment we will spilt the water molecule into hydrogen gas and oxygen gas.
This is a chemical reaction - a reaction of decomposition. That means we’re taking a substance apart.
Please be carful with the wires, I cut myself while I was stripping the insulation off one of the wires I used.
Please make sure an adult is present and helping with this experiment.
This is a chemical reaction - a reaction of decomposition. That means we’re taking a substance apart.
Please be carful with the wires, I cut myself while I was stripping the insulation off one of the wires I used.
Please make sure an adult is present and helping with this experiment.
Saturday Morning Science - Air Pressure
We live at the bottom of a deep sea of air.
Have you ever swam to the bottom of the deep end in a pool? Do you remember the pressure you felt? That’s what living on Earth is like, expect that we’re used to the pressure.
We don’t think about air pressure a lot, but if you ever bake a cake, you may notice a “high altitude” version of the instructions. That’s because, at higher altitudes, air pressure is lower than at sea-level.
Today, we’re going to warm up the air in a plastic bottle, then cap it off. The tiny particles of warm air are further apart than the particles in room temperature air, and that creates lower air pressure inside the bottle. As the warm air in the bottle cools, those particles move closer together and take up less space, and the air pressure outside will crush the bottle.
All you need is: a plastic bottle you can cap and hot tap water.
Please make sure an adult is present and helping with this experiment.
Have you ever swam to the bottom of the deep end in a pool? Do you remember the pressure you felt? That’s what living on Earth is like, expect that we’re used to the pressure.
We don’t think about air pressure a lot, but if you ever bake a cake, you may notice a “high altitude” version of the instructions. That’s because, at higher altitudes, air pressure is lower than at sea-level.
Today, we’re going to warm up the air in a plastic bottle, then cap it off. The tiny particles of warm air are further apart than the particles in room temperature air, and that creates lower air pressure inside the bottle. As the warm air in the bottle cools, those particles move closer together and take up less space, and the air pressure outside will crush the bottle.
All you need is: a plastic bottle you can cap and hot tap water.
Please make sure an adult is present and helping with this experiment.
Saturday Morning Science - Salt Solution & Evaporation
Understanding mixtures and solutions is a big part of fundamental chemistry. A solution is where one substance is mixed into another. The result is a clear liquid. That’s what happens when we mix salt into water.
The interesting part is when we let the water evaporate away. The salt can not evaporate so it is left behind and makes really cool crystal structures.
Many junior scientists expect that there may be more or less salt left over after evaporation, but it’s exactly the same amount as we started with.
All you need is: Water, a glass, salt and a paper plate.
Please make sure an adult is present and helping with this experiment.
The interesting part is when we let the water evaporate away. The salt can not evaporate so it is left behind and makes really cool crystal structures.
Many junior scientists expect that there may be more or less salt left over after evaporation, but it’s exactly the same amount as we started with.
All you need is: Water, a glass, salt and a paper plate.
Please make sure an adult is present and helping with this experiment.
Saturday Morning Science - Vinegar & Baking Soda
This experiment is the chemical reaction of vinegar and baking soda. It’s probably a reaction you are already familiar with, but there’s more going on than you may realize.
All you need is: Vinegar, baking soda, an empty soda bottle, a balloon and a spoon. You can do this in a cup or plastic bag (Don’t seal the bag!) if you don’t have a soda bottle or balloon.
When you mix the vinegar and baking soda, you will see lots of fizzing. It’s producing carbon dioxide, the same gas we exhale.
This is the part you may not be aware of: If you hold the bottom of the bottle and pay attention to the temperature of the vinegar, you will notice the vinegar will noticeably cool as the reaction occurs. This is an endothermic reaction - a chemical reaction that takes energy from the environment, so the vinegar cools down.
Please make sure an adult is present and helping with this experiment.
All you need is: Vinegar, baking soda, an empty soda bottle, a balloon and a spoon. You can do this in a cup or plastic bag (Don’t seal the bag!) if you don’t have a soda bottle or balloon.
When you mix the vinegar and baking soda, you will see lots of fizzing. It’s producing carbon dioxide, the same gas we exhale.
This is the part you may not be aware of: If you hold the bottom of the bottle and pay attention to the temperature of the vinegar, you will notice the vinegar will noticeably cool as the reaction occurs. This is an endothermic reaction - a chemical reaction that takes energy from the environment, so the vinegar cools down.
Please make sure an adult is present and helping with this experiment.
Saturday Morning Science - Calcium Chloride & Water
This experiment is the chemical reaction of calcium chloride and water. If you’ve ever put Ice Melt or Winter Heat or any of a dozen or more brand names of this substance down on a driveway or walkway to melt away stubborn ice, then you’ve seen the effects of this interesting chemical reaction.
All you need is: Calcium chloride, cold water, a plastic bag, and a spoon.
When you mix the calcium chloride and water in the bag, you feel the water warming up inside the bag. This is an exothermic reaction - a chemical reaction that makes heat.
Please make sure an adult is present and helping with this experiment.
All you need is: Calcium chloride, cold water, a plastic bag, and a spoon.
When you mix the calcium chloride and water in the bag, you feel the water warming up inside the bag. This is an exothermic reaction - a chemical reaction that makes heat.
Please make sure an adult is present and helping with this experiment.
Saturday Morning Science - Coke 'n Mentos
This experiment is not a chemical reaction - it is a physical reaction. Even though the Mentos candies feel smooth to our skin, their surface is pockmarked with tiny holes. These holes draw out the dissolved carbon dioxide in Diet Coke super fast, resulting in a geyser of soda spewing out of the bottle.
All you need is: Diet Coke (really, any carbonated beverage will work), a piece of paper, some tape, and Mentos.
When you drop the Mentos into the soda, get out of the way. Sometimes, especially if you get all the Mentos into the bottle, the geyser will shoot up ten feet or more.
Please make sure an adult is present and helping with this experiment.
All you need is: Diet Coke (really, any carbonated beverage will work), a piece of paper, some tape, and Mentos.
When you drop the Mentos into the soda, get out of the way. Sometimes, especially if you get all the Mentos into the bottle, the geyser will shoot up ten feet or more.
Please make sure an adult is present and helping with this experiment.