Science Experiment #1

Pardon the creepy black out of my kids' faces but this is on the internet and I have zero photoshopping skills. Plus I was able to successfully make my house look super clean. You can't even notice. Ok- maybe you can...

Last week we learned about gasses and chemical reactions. Specifically, carbon dioxide. It began with a small bottle of seltzer water.

I opened the bottle and poured it into my kids hands asking if they could feel all the bubbles tickling their hands. I explained that those bubbles were from carbonation (carbon dioxide). I asked if they wanted to make a chemical reaction to make carbon dioxide to inflate a balloon.

I cleaned out the small bottle and filled it with vinegar. I then filled a balloon with baking soda and attached the neck of the balloon to the neck of the bottle (without dumping any baking soda in the bottle).

After that we had a dramatic countdown and lifted the balloon up so the baking soda would fall into the bottle. The reaction caused the balloon to inflate and was a success.

Guys- have you ever tried to explain invisible gasses to your kids before?

Yeah- my eldest believed there was vinegar filling the balloon. I removed it and then let it blow out on their hands and faces and repeated the experiment.

The kid stubbornly insisted it was still vinegar and not this newfangled "carbon dioxide" gas I was telling him about. We repeated the experiment four times and then I let them play with vinegar and baking soda in a bowl by themselves.

While super fun, I don't think the idea got through. Luckily they've got a long way before they need to make a volcano in grade school. And double luckily, there are multiple carbon dioxide experiments in my science lessons. WOOT.

Best of luck,

Serena