lava lamp
Difficulty
Time to complete
Making a homemade lava lamp is great for getting little minds thinking. Kids will enjoy watching beads of colour bounce around within the solution as it bubbles away.
This exercise also creates an opportunity to explain density and why oil naturally rises to float on top of water and in this case vinegar, as it has a lower density.
Supplies
If you would like to make your lava lamp glow in the dark, try adding phosphorescent powder (pigment) to vinegar with food colouring for an eerie glow.
Phosphorescent powder is non-toxic and is also often referred to as glow powder. You can purchase this ingredient easily on eBay or at other online retailers. Use with care as spills on carpet or clothing can be difficult to remove.
lets get bubbling!
- Start by preparing a space for your experiment in the kitchen or at a table. You will need your glass jar and small water glass, with all the other ingredients at the ready.
- With a teaspoon add 3 spoons of bicarbonate soda powder to the bottom of your jar. Pack this down firmly so that it is not sitting loosely at the bottom of the jar.
- Very carefully pour your vegetable oil into the jar and on top of the soda powder without dislodging it. Keep pouring until your jar is 3/4 full.
- Pour white vinegar into your water glass until the glass is about 1/3 third full, measurements do not need to be exact.
- Into your white vinegar, mix 6-8 drops of food colouring.
- You lamp is now ready! Carefully pour a little of your coloured vinegar mix into the top of the jar full of oil and watch as the droplets and globs of colour sink and then bound around in your very own lava lamp!
Note: You can keep adding more of you coloured vinegar mix to extend the life of your lamp.Try making two different coloured vinegar mixes and add them to the jar together to see how they mix together!
Try this!
When it stops bubbling, try sprinkling some salt into your lava lamp. What happens?
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