My daughter loves science! We attended a science show this past year and she couldn’t get enough. That is how I knew I needed to include a science category with our activity sticks. So our first science experiment that we pulled from the jar was elephant toothpaste. This sounds like a crazy thing to make but it was a lot of fun for both myself and both of my young children. This would also be fun for older kids as well.
Supplies:
- Yeast
- Hydrogen Peroxide (at least 3%, 6% would give a more exciting reaction though)
- Dish Soap
- Bottle (I used a soda bottle)
- Liquid Food Coloring
- Eye Protection (Hydrogen Peroxide is a chemical and should be treated as such)
Step 1:
Add 1 tsp of yeast into 2 TB of warm water and mix. My daughter did this step, she loves helping in the kitchen so she was all for helping with this. Put the mixture to the side to be used later.
Step 2:
This next step should be done by an adult. Using a funnel add 1/2 a cup of hydrogen peroxide to your bottle. Then add a few drops of food coloring (this could be done with help from a child) and a few squirts of dish soap. swish the bottle around to mix the added ingredients.
Step 3:
Continue using the funnel and add the yeast mixture, remove the funnel quickly as you watch the reaction happen. I also recommend using a big container under the bottle to catch the foam. We used a big plastic container but you could also use a baking dish.
Step 4:
Explore the foam through touch, smell and sight but def not through taste. Have your children explain to you the characteristics of the reaction and what is happening. As you can see from the pictures my daughter loved the elephant toothpaste experiment, my son on the other hand was slightly impressed but decided he had better things to do. This was definitely geared more towards kids who are at least a little older, my daughter is 4 and my son is 2.
Who do you know who would love to make some elephant toothpaste? If you try this out let us know how it goes and anything you ended up adding to the experiment to make it your own! Also don’t forget to check into the activity sticks post to see which activities we have done recently.
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