how to make your own volcano.

A volcano - Talk to an art teacher about making a volcano out of paper mache or plaster. You can also use clay or if you're in a hurry to make your volcano, use a mound of dirt outside. A container that 35mm film comes in or similar size container. Red and yellow food coloring (optional) Vinegar Liquid dish washing soap Go outside or prepare for some clean-up inside Put the container into the volcano at the top Add two spoonfuls of baking soda Add about a spoonful of dish soap Add about 5 drops each of the red and yellow food coloring Now for the eruption!: Add about an ounce of the vinegar into the container and watch what your volcano come alive. A VOLCANO is produced over thousands of years as heat a pressure build up. That aspect of a volcano is very difficult to recreate in a home experiment. However this volcano will give you an idea of what it might look like when a volcano erupts flowing lava. This is a classic experiment in which a CHEMICAL reaction can create the appearance of a PHYSICAL volcano eruption. You should look at pictures of volcanoes to be familiar with the different types. (A SHIELD volcano, for example is the most common kind of volcano, and yet few people know about them) The reaction will bubble up and flow down the side like a real volcano (only much faster!) Look for videos of volcanoes erupting and be sure that you understand how heat and pressure work to really make volcanoes erupt

how to make a balloon rocket.

• 1 balloon (round ones will work, but the longer "airship" balloons work best)
• 1 long piece of kite string (about 10-15 feet long)
• 1 plastic straw
• tape

1. Tie one end of the string to a chair, door knob, or other support.
2. Put the other end of the string through the straw.
3. Pull the string tight and tie it to another support in the room.
4. Blow up the balloon (but don't tie it.) Pinch the end of the balloon and tape the balloon to the straw as shown above. You're ready for launch.
5. Let go and watch the rocket fly!

So how does it work? It's all about the air...and thrust. As the air rushes out of the balloon, it creates a forward motion called THRUST. Thrust is a pushing force created by energy. In the balloon experiment, our thrust comes from the energy of the balloon forcing the air out. Different sizes and shapes of balloon will create more or less thrust. In a real rocket, thrust is created by the force of burning rocket fuel as it blasts from the rockets engine - as the engines blast down, the rocket goes up!

how to make a exploding lunch bag

• One small (sandwich size) zip-lock bag - freezer bags work best.
• Baking soda
• Warm water
• Vinegar
• Measuring cup
• A tissue

1. Go outside - or at least do this in the kitchen sink.

2. Put 1/4 cup of pretty warm water into the bag.

3. Add 1/2 cup of vinegar to the water in the bag.

3. Put 3 teaspoons of baking soda into the middle of the tissue

4. Wrap the the baking soda up in the tissue by folding the tissue around it.

5. You will have to work fast now - partially zip the bag closed but leave enough space to add the baking soda packet. Put the tissue with the baking soda into the bag and quickly zip the bagcompletely closed.

6. Put the bag in the sink or down on the ground (outside) and step back. The bag will start to expand, and expand, and if all goes well...POP!

Cool huh? Nothing like a little chemistry to to add fun to a boring afternoon. What happens inside the bag is actually pretty interesting - the baking soda and the vinegar eventually mix (the tissue buys you some time to zip the bag shut) When they do mix, you create an ACID-BASE reaction and the two chemicals work together to create a gas, (carbon dioxide - the stuff we breathe out) well it turns out gasses need a lot of room and the carbon dioxide starts to fill the bag, and keeps filling the bag until the bag can no longer hold it any more and, POP! Be sure to clean up well and recycle those plastic bags...have fun!

The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions:

1. Will different temperature water affect how fast the bag inflates?
2. What amount of baking soda creates the best reaction?
3. Which size bag creates the fastest pop?

how to build a fizz inflator.

• One small empty plastic soda or water bottle
• 1/2 cup of vinegar
• Small balloon
• Baking soda
• Funnel or piece of paper

1. Carefully pour the vinegar into the bottle.

2. This is the tricky part: Loosen up the balloon by stretching it a few times and then use the funnel to fill it a bit more than half way with baking soda. If you don't have a funnel you can make one using the paper and some tape.

3. Now carefully put the neck of the balloon all the way over the neck of the bottle without letting any baking soda into the bottle.

4. Ready? Lift the balloon up so that the baking soda falls from the balloon into the bottle and mixes with the vinegar. Watch the fizz-inflator at work!

The baking soda and the vinegar create an ACID-BASE reaction and the two chemicals work together to create a gas, (carbon dioxide) Gasses need a lot of room to spread out and the carbon dioxide starts to fill the bottle, and then moves into the balloon to inflate it.

The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions:

1. Does water temperature affect how fast the balloon fills up?
2. Does the size of the bottle affect how much the balloon fills?
3. Can the amount the balloon fills-up be controlled by the amount of vinegar or baking soda?

how to make a foamy fountain.

• A clean 16 ounce plastic soda bottle
• 1/2 cup 20-volume hydrogen peroxide liquid (20-volume is a 6% solution, ask an adult to get this from a beauty supply store or hair salon)
• 1 Tablespoon (one packet) of dry yeast
• 3 Tablespoons of warm water
• Liquid dish washing soap
• Food coloring
• Small cup
• Safety goggles

NOTE: As you can see from the picture, foam will overflow from the bottle, so be sure to do this experiment on a washable surface, or place the bottle on a tray.

1. Hydrogen peroxide can irritate skin and eyes, so put on those safety goggles and ask an adult to carefully pour the hydrogen peroxide into the bottle.

2. Add 8 drops of your favorite food coloring into the bottle.

3. Add about 1 tablespoon of liquid dish soap into the bottle and swish the bottle around a bit to mix it.

4. In a separate small cup, combine the warm water and the yeast together and mix for about 30 seconds.

5. Now the adventure starts! Pour the yeast water mixture into the bottle (a funnel helps here) and watch the foaminess begin!

Foam is awesome! The foam you made is special because each tiny foam bubble is filled with oxygen. The yeast acted as a catalyst (a helper) to remove the oxygen from the hydrogen peroxide. Since it did this very fast, it created lots and lots of bubbles. Did you notice the bottle got warm. Your experiment created a reaction called an Exothermic Reaction - that means it not only created foam, it created heat! The foam produced is just water, soap, and oxygen so you can clean it up with a sponge and pour any extra liquid left in the bottle down the drain.

This experiment is sometimes called "Elephant's Toothpaste" because it looks like toothpaste coming out of a tube, but don't get the foam in your mouth!

The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions:

1. Does the amount of yeast change the amount of foam produced?
2. Does the experiment work as well if you add the dry yeast without mixing it with water?
3. Does the size of the bottle affect the amount of foam produced?

how to make plastic milk.

• One cup of milk
• 4 teaspoons of white vinegar
• A bowl
• A strainer
• Adult help

1. Ask your friendly adult to heat up the milk until it is hot, but not boiling
2. Now ask the adult to carefully pour the milk into the bowl
3. Add the vinegar to the milk and stir it up with a spoon for about a minute
4. Now the fun part, pour the milk through the strainer into the sink - careful it may be hot!
5. Left behind in the strainer is a mass of lumpy blobs.
6. When it is cool enough, you can rinse the blobs off in water while you press them together .
7. Now just mold it into a shape and it will harden in a few days. - Cool!

Plastic? In milk? Well, sort of. You made a substance called CASEIN. It's from the latin word meaning "cheese." CasEin occurs when the protien in the milk meets the acid in the vinegar. The casein in milk does not mix with the acid and so it forms blobs. True plastics, called poymers, are a little different. If you want to make a true plastic and learn more about polymers, try the Homemade Slime experiment. Have fun!

The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions:

1. Will more vinegar make more casein?
2. Will you get the same results with low-fat milk, soy milk?
3. Do all types of vinegar work?
4. Will other acids, such as lemon juice and orange juice work?

how to make slim.

* 1/4 cup of water
* 1/4 cup of white craft glue (like Elmer's glue)
* 1/4 cup of liquid starch (used for clothes)
* Food coloring (optional)
* Mixing bowl
* Mixing spoon

1. Pour all of the the glue into the mixing bowl.
2. Pour all of the water to the mixing bowl with the glue.
3. Stir the glue and water together.
4. Add your food color now - about 6 drops should do it.
5. Now add the liquid starch and stir it in.
6. It should be nice and blobby by now. As you play with your slimy concoction, it will become more stretchy and easier to hold.
7. Explore your slimy creation and store it in a zip bag when you are not using it.

The glue is a liquid polymer. This means that the tiny molecules in the glue are in strands like a chain. When you add the liquid starch, the strands of the polymer glue hold together, giving it its slimy feel. The starch acts as a cross-linker that links all the polymer strands together.

The project above is a DEMONSTRATION. To make it a true experiment, you can try to answer these questions:

1. Does changing the amount of water or glue change the feel of the slime?

2. Do different glues make better slime?

3. How does changing the amount of each ingredient change how the slime turns out?

4. What happens to slime if it is stored out of a bag compared to in a bag?