science experiments that have chemical reactions

68 Best Chemistry Experiments: Learn About Chemical Reactions

Whether you’re a student eager to explore the wonders of chemical reactions or a teacher seeking to inspire and engage your students, we’ve compiled a curated list of the top 68 chemistry experiments so you can learn about chemical reactions.

While the theories and laws governing chemistry can sometimes feel abstract, experiments bridge the gap between these concepts and their tangible manifestations. These experiments provide hands-on experiences illuminating the intricacies of chemical reactions, molecular structures, and elemental properties.

1. Covalent Bonds

By engaging in activities that demonstrate the formation and properties of covalent bonds, students can grasp the significance of these bonds in holding atoms together and shaping the world around us.

Learn more: Covalent Bonds

2. Sulfuric Acid and Sugar Demonstration

Through this experiment, students can develop a deeper understanding of chemical properties, appreciate the power of chemical reactions, and ignite their passion for scientific exploration.

3. Make Hot Ice at Home

Making hot ice at home is a fascinating chemistry experiment that allows students to witness the captivating transformation of a liquid into a solid with a surprising twist.

4. Make a Bouncing Polymer Ball

This hands-on activity not only allows students to explore the fascinating properties of polymers but also encourages experimentation and creativity.

Learn more: Thought Co

5. Diffusion Watercolor Art

This experiment offers a wonderful opportunity for students to explore the properties of pigments, observe how they interact with water, and discover the mesmerizing patterns and textures that emerge.

Learn more: Diffusion Watercolor Art

6. Exploding Baggie

The exploding baggie experiment is a captivating and dynamic demonstration that students should engage in with caution and under the supervision of a qualified instructor.

Learn more: Exploding Baggie

7. Color Changing Chemistry Clock

This experiment not only engages students in the world of chemical kinetics but also introduces them to the concept of a chemical clock, where the color change acts as a timekeeping mechanism.

Learn more: Color Changing Chemistry Clock

8. Pipe Cleaner Crystal Trees

By adjusting the concentration of the Borax solution or experimenting with different pipe cleaner arrangements, students can customize their crystal trees and observe how it affects the growth patterns.

Learn more: Pipe Cleaner Crystal Trees

9. How To Make Ice Sculptures

Through this experiment, students gain a deeper understanding of the physical and chemical changes that occur when water freezes and melts.

Learn more: Ice Sculpture

10. How to Make Paper

Through this hands-on activity, students gain a deeper understanding of the properties of cellulose fibers and the transformative power of chemical reactions.

Learn more: How to Make Paper

11. Color Changing Chemistry

Color changing chemistry is an enchanting experiment that offers a captivating blend of science and art. Students should embark on this colorful journey to witness the mesmerizing transformations of chemicals and explore the principles of chemical reactions.

12. Gassy Banana

The gassy banana experiment is a fun and interactive way for students to explore the principles of chemical reactions and gas production.

Learn more: Gassy Banana

13. Gingerbread Man Chemistry Experiment

This hands-on activity not only introduces students to the concepts of chemical leavening and heat-induced reactions but also allows for creativity in decorating and personalizing their gingerbread creations.

Learn more: Gingerbread Man Chemistry Experiment

14. Make Amortentia Potion

While the love potion is fictional, this activity offers a chance to explore the art of potion-making and the chemistry behind it.

Learn more: How to Make Amortentia Potion

15. Strawberry DNA Extraction

This hands-on experiment offers a unique opportunity to observe DNA, the building blocks of life, up close and learn about its structure and properties.

16. Melting Snowman

The melting snowman experiment is a fun and whimsical activity that allows students to explore the principles of heat transfer and phase changes.

Learn more: Melting Snowman

17. Acid Base Cabbage Juice

The acid-base cabbage juice experiment is an engaging and colorful activity that allows students to explore the pH scale and the properties of acids and bases.

By extracting the purple pigment from red cabbage leaves and creating cabbage juice, students can use this natural indicator to identify and differentiate between acidic and basic substances.

Learn more: Acid Base Cabbage Juice

18. Magic Milk

The magic milk experiment is a mesmerizing and educational activity that allows students to explore the concepts of surface tension and chemical reactions.

By adding drops of different food colors to a dish of milk and then introducing a small amount of dish soap, students can witness a captivating display of swirling colors and patterns.

Learn more: Magic Milk

19. Melting Ice with Salt and Water

Through this hands-on activity, students can gain a deeper understanding of the science behind de-icing and how different substances can influence the physical properties of water.

Learn more: Melting Ice with Salt and Water

20. Barking Dog Chemistry Demonstration

The barking dog chemistry demonstration is an exciting and visually captivating experiment that showcases the principles of combustion and gas production.

21. How to Make Egg Geodes

Making egg geodes is a fascinating and creative chemistry experiment that students should try. By using common materials like eggshells, salt, and food coloring, students can create their own beautiful geode-like crystals.

Learn more: How to Make Egg Geodes

22. Make Sherbet

This experiment not only engages the taste buds but also introduces concepts of acidity, solubility, and the chemical reactions that occur when the sherbet comes into contact with moisture.

Learn more: Make Sherbet

23. Hatch a Baking Soda Dinosaur Egg

As the baking soda dries and hardens around the toy, it forms a “shell” resembling a dinosaur egg. To hatch the egg, students can pour vinegar onto the shell, causing a chemical reaction that produces carbon dioxide gas.

Learn more: Steam Powered Family

24. Chromatography Flowers

By analyzing the resulting patterns, students can gain insights into the different pigments present in flowers and the science behind their colors.

Learn more: Chromatography Flowers

25. Turn Juice Into Solid

Turning juice into a solid through gelification is an engaging and educational chemistry experiment that students should try. By exploring the transformation of a liquid into a solid, students can gain insights of chemical reactions and molecular interactions.

Learn more: Turn Juice into Solid

26. Bouncy Balls

Making bouncy balls allows students to explore the fascinating properties of polymers, such as their ability to stretch and rebound.

 27. Make a Lemon Battery

Creating a lemon battery is a captivating and hands-on experiment that allows students to explore the fundamentals of electricity and chemical reactions.

28. Mentos and Soda Project

The Mentos and soda project is a thrilling and explosive experiment that students should try. By dropping Mentos candies into a bottle of carbonated soda, an exciting eruption occurs.

29. Alkali Metal in Water

The reaction of alkali metals with water is a fascinating and visually captivating chemistry demonstration.

30. Rainbow Flame

The rainbow flame experiment is a captivating and visually stunning chemistry demonstration that students should explore.

31. Sugar Yeast Experiment

This experiment not only introduces students to the concept of fermentation but also allows them to witness the effects of a living organism, yeast, on the sugar substrate.

32. The Thermite Reaction

The thermite reaction is a highly energetic and visually striking chemical reaction that students can explore with caution and under proper supervision.

This experiment showcases the principles of exothermic reactions, oxidation-reduction, and the high temperatures that can be achieved through chemical reactions.

33. Polishing Pennies

Polishing pennies is a simple and enjoyable chemistry experiment that allows students to explore the concepts of oxidation and cleaning methods.

34. Elephant Toothpaste

The elephant toothpaste experiment is a thrilling and visually captivating chemistry demonstration that students should try with caution and under the guidance of a knowledgeable instructor.

35. Magic Potion

Creating a magic potion is an exciting and imaginative activity that allows students to explore their creativity while learning about the principles of chemistry.

36. Color Changing Acid-Base Experiment

Through the color changing acid-base experiment, students can gain a deeper understanding of chemical reactions and the role of pH in our daily lives.

Learn more: Color Changing Acid-Base Experiment

37. Fill up a Balloon

Filling up a balloon is a simple and enjoyable physics experiment that demonstrates the properties of air pressure. By blowing air into a balloon, you can observe how the balloon expands and becomes inflated.

38. Jello and Vinegar

The combination of Jello and vinegar is a fascinating and tasty chemistry experiment that demonstrates the effects of acid on a gelatin-based substance.

Learn more: Jello and Vinegar

39. Vinegar and Steel Wool Reaction

This experiment not only provides a visual demonstration of the oxidation process but also introduces students to the concept of corrosion and the role of acids in accelerating the process.

Learn more: Vinegar and Steel Wool Reaction

40. Dancing Rice

The dancing rice experiment is a captivating and educational demonstration that showcases the principles of density and buoyancy.

By pouring a small amount of uncooked rice into a clear container filled with water, students can witness the rice grains moving and “dancing” in the water.

Learn more: Dancing Rice

41. Soil Testing Garden Science

Soil testing is a valuable and informative experiment that allows students to assess the composition and properties of soil.

By collecting soil samples from different locations and analyzing them, students can gain insights into the nutrient content, pH level, and texture of the soil.

Learn more: Soil Testing Garden Science

42. Heat Sensitive Color Changing Slime

Creating heat-sensitive color-changing slime is a captivating and playful chemistry experiment that students should try.

Learn more: Left Brain Craft Brain

43. Experimenting with Viscosity

Experimenting with viscosity is an engaging and hands-on activity that allows students to explore the flow properties of liquids.

Viscosity refers to a liquid’s resistance to flow, and this experiment enables students to investigate how different factors affect viscosity.

Learn more: Experimenting with Viscosity

44. Rock Candy Science

Rock candy science is a delightful and educational chemistry experiment that students should try. By growing their own rock candy crystals, students can learn about crystal formation and explore the principles of solubility and saturation.

Learn more: Rock Candy Science

45. Baking Soda vs Baking Powder

Baking soda and baking powder have distinct properties that influence the leavening process in different ways.

This hands-on experiment provides a practical understanding of how these ingredients interact with acids and moisture to create carbon dioxide gas.

46. Endothermic and Exothermic Reactions Experiment

The endothermic and exothermic reactions experiment is an exciting and informative chemistry exploration that students should try.

By observing and comparing the heat changes in different reactions, students can gain a deeper understanding of energy transfer and the concepts of endothermic and exothermic processes.

Learn more: Education.com

47. Diaper Chemistry

By dissecting a diaper and examining its components, students can uncover the chemical processes that make diapers so effective at absorbing and retaining liquids.

Learn more: Diaper Chemistry

48. Candle Chemical Reaction

The “Flame out” experiment is an intriguing and educational chemistry demonstration that students should try. By exploring the effects of a chemical reaction on a burning candle, students can witness the captivating moment when the flame is extinguished.

49. Make Curds and Whey

This experiment not only introduces students to the concept of acid-base reactions but also offers an opportunity to explore the science behind cheese-making.

Learn more: Tinkerlab

50. Grow Crystals Overnight

By creating a supersaturated solution using substances like epsom salt, sugar, or borax, students can observe the fascinating process of crystal growth. This experiment allows students to explore the principles of solubility, saturation, and nucleation.

Learn more: Grow Crystals Overnight

51. Measure Electrolytes in Sports Drinks

The “Measure Electrolytes in Sports Drinks” experiment is an informative and practical chemistry activity that students should try.

By using simple tools like a multimeter or conductivity probe, students can measure the electrical conductivity of different sports drinks to determine their electrolyte content.

52. Oxygen and Fire Experiment

The oxygen and fire experiment is a captivating and educational chemistry demonstration that students should try. By observing the effects of oxygen on a controlled fire, students can witness the essential role of oxygen in supporting combustion.

53. Electrolysis Of Water

The electrolysis of water experiment is a captivating and educational chemistry demonstration that students should try.

Learn more: Electrolysis Of Water

54. Expanding Ivory Soap

The expanding Ivory Soap experiment is a fun and interactive chemistry activity that students should try. By placing a bar of Ivory soap in a microwave, students can witness the remarkable expansion of the soap as it heats up.

Learn more: Little Bins Little Hands

55. Glowing Fireworks

This experiment not only introduces students to the principles of pyrotechnics and combustion but also encourages observation, critical thinking, and an appreciation for the physics and chemistry behind.

Learn more: Glowing Fireworks

56. Colorful Polymer Chemistry

Colorful polymer chemistry is an exciting and vibrant experiment that students should try to explore polymers and colorants.

By combining different types of polymers with various colorants, such as food coloring or pigments, students can create a kaleidoscope of colors in their polymer creations.

Learn more: Colorful Polymer Chemistry

57. Sulfur Hexafluoride- Deep Voice Gas

This experiment provides a firsthand experience of how the density and composition of gases can influence sound transmission.

It encourages scientific curiosity, observation, and a sense of wonder as students witness the surprising transformation of their voices.

58. Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream

Liquid nitrogen ice cream is a thrilling and delicious chemistry experiment that students should try. By combining cream, sugar, and flavorings with liquid nitrogen, students can create ice cream with a unique and creamy texture.

59. White Smoke Chemistry Demonstration

The White Smoke Chemistry Demonstration provides an engaging and visually captivating experience for students to explore chemical reactions and gases. By combining hydrochloric acid and ammonia solutions, students can witness the mesmerizing formation of white smoke.

60. Nitrogen Triiodide Chemistry Demonstration

The nitrogen triiodide chemistry demonstration is a remarkable and attention-grabbing experiment that students should try under the guidance of a knowledgeable instructor.

By reacting iodine crystals with concentrated ammonia, students can precipitate nitrogen triiodide (NI3), a highly sensitive compound.

61. Make a Plastic- Milk And Vinegar Reaction Experiment

Through the “Make a Plastic – Milk and Vinegar Reaction” experiment, students can gain a deeper understanding of the chemistry behind plastics, environmental sustainability, and the potential of biodegradable materials.

Learn more: Rookie Parenting

62. Eno and Water Experiment

This experiment not only introduces students to acid-base reactions but also engages their senses as they witness the visible and audible effects of the reaction.

63. The Eternal Kettle Experiment

By filling a kettle with alcohol and igniting it, students can investigate the behavior of the alcohol flame and its sustainability.

64. Coke and Chlorine Bombs

Engaging in this experiment allows students to experience the wonders of chemistry firsthand, making it an ideal choice to ignite their curiosity and passion for scientific exploration.

65. Set your Hand on Fire

This experiment showcases the fascinating nature of combustion and the science behind fire.

By carefully following proper procedures and safety guidelines, students can witness firsthand how the sanitizer’s high alcohol content interacts with an open flame, resulting in a brief but captivating display of controlled combustion.

66. Instant Ice Experiments

The Instant Ice Experiment offers an engaging and captivating opportunity for students to explore the wonders of chemistry and phase changes.

By using simple household ingredients, students can witness the fascinating phenomenon of rapid ice formation in just a matter of seconds.

67. Coke Cans in Acid and Base

Engaging in this experiment allows students to gain a deeper understanding of the chemical properties of substances and the importance of safety protocols in scientific investigations.

68. Color Changing Invisible Ink

The Color Changing Invisible Ink experiment offers an intriguing and fun opportunity for students to explore chemistry and learn about the concept of chemical reactions.

Learn more: Research Parent

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13 Awesome Chemical Reaction Experiments You Can Do At Home

Categories Activities & Ideas

Kids love to play mad scientist. And what better way to get kids excited about chemistry than with a few awesome chemical reaction experiments you can do at home?

Chemistry is an important branch of science that plays a big role in our everyday lives – so it’s definitely a subject children should learn about.

Luckily, chemistry is like performing magic – it’s fun to learn and do!

So, with that said, here are some awesome chemical experiments that can be done at home, all just as fun as they are educational.

Just remember: For health and safety, just make sure to supervise your child while doing the following experiments. If you’re a teacher, conduct these experiments in class or have the child’s parents supervise them at home.

1. Mentos & Diet Soda Chemical Volcano Eruption

Mixing mentos and diet soda is a classic experiment that produces a large chemical reaction that’s ideal for showing kids what chemistry is capable of. It’s safe and non-toxic, but the experiment can get messy, so it’s best to do it outdoors!

For this chemical reaction experiment, all you’ll need are a two-liter bottle of diet soda, a test tube or sheet of paper, an index card, and Mentos candies. You can use normal soda instead of diet soda, as well as M&Ms or Skittles instead of Mentos.

2. Baking Soda And Vinegar Balloon Experiment

If you have never seen a self-inflating balloon, this awesome chemical reaction experiment is sure to amaze the kids. The best thing is that baking soda and vinegar are common household items, so this experiment is easy enough to do at home.

All it involves is mixing baking soda and vinegar in a bottle and placing a balloon on the open end. The chemical reaction between baking soda and vinegar will release carbon dioxide gas that will inflate the balloon.

3. Green Flames

Copper sulfate is another item that can be easily found in most homes, but what’s special about it is that it can turn flames green. This chemical reaction experiment is best done in a fireplace or with a small controlled flame.

This is another awesome experiment that’s simple to do. Simply sprinkle copper sulfate onto a flame to see the color turn blue. You can also use alcohol or an alcohol-based fuel before lighting to achieve a brighter green color.

4. Fireproof Balloon

If you have more balloons left over from the baking soda and vinegar balloon experiment shown above, creating a fireproof balloon is another awesome chemical reaction experiment that’s easy to do and sure to impress.

For this experiment, all you need are two balloons, 50 milliliters of water, a syringe, and a candle or lighter. Simply blow two balloons up, one with 50ml of water added using the syringe. Hold each balloon over a candle to see which one bursts!

5. Foaming Volcano At Home Experiment

The foaming volcano experiment is similar to the baking soda and vinegar experiment except that it’s less explosive and involves different items. It uses baking soda, liquid soap, red food coloring, and acetic acid to create a foaming chemical reaction.

All it involves is using plasticine to create a volcano, then filling the inside with baking soda, a few drops of food coloring, and liquid soap. The last step is adding the acetic acid to watch the volcano erupt. Perform the experiment outside or in a tray to avoid mess!

6. Ice Cream In A Bag

Teach children that cooking also involves chemistry! This ice cream in a bag chemical reaction experiment is a great way to teach kids about freezing point depression, creating a tasty treat that they can also eat afterward.

The main items you’ll need for this experiment include zipper-top bags, ice, sodium chloride as table salt or rock salt, and ingredients for the ice cream, which are sugar, milk, whipping cream, and vanilla flavoring.

7. Elephant Toothpaste

This elephant toothpaste experiment is another simple chemical reaction that you can do at home using common household items. All you’ll need are an empty bottle (plastic or glass), 6% hydrogen peroxide, dry yeast, dish soap, food coloring, and warm water.

Similar to the foaming volcano, this elephant toothpaste experiment creates a chemical reaction that will see the bottle overflow with a foamy liquid. To make it extra fun, conduct the experiment with different food coloring!

8. Smoke Without Fire Experiment

“There’s no smoke without fire” unless you’re a chemist! This fun smoke-without-fire experiment demonstrates an awesome chemical reaction that creates smoke using a combination of concentrated hydrochloric acid and ammonia.

You will need some science equipment to perform this experiment, which includes three flasks connected by gas pipes. The chemical reaction produces a slow release of white smoke with, you guessed it, no fire or sparks.

9. Liquid Layer Density Tower

Density towers, or density columns, are a great way to show and explain the density levels of different liquids. You can use honey, corn syrup or pancake syrup, liquid dishwashing soap, water (with food coloring if desired), vegetable oil, rubbing alcohol, and lamp oil.

When you have a jar or container, the key is to put the heavier liquids in first, then pour the next liquids in using the side of the container. Even if you don’t get it right the first time, it’s a fun experiment that also creates a colorful display item!

If you and the kids don’t mind getting messy, this slime experiment is a fun chemical reaction that will create a thick, stretchy slime that becomes firmer and less sticky the more it’s played with. You can also add food coloring to create different colors of slime!

For this chemical reaction experiment, you’ll need borax powder, water, glue, and food coloring if you want to add color to the slime. You’ll also need a bowl, jar or measuring cup, and teaspoon for mixing.

11. Ignite A Candle With A Battery

Show your class that it’s possible to light a candle without matches or lighters with this awesome battery experiment! All it requires is an AA battery, chewing gum wrapper, cotton wool, scissors, and a candle.

You might not know this, but the chewing gum wrapper is coated with a layer of aluminum. As a good electrical conductor, the wrapper will generate an electric current when connected to the battery. The aluminum will heat up and light the cotton, which will ignite the candle.

12. DIY Lava Lamp

Lava lamps are awesome, so why not make a DIY one at home using an awesome chemical reaction? Although this DIY lava lamp won’t shine as brightly as a regular lava lamp, it’s still a fun experiment that will teach the kids about density.

The end result is a colorful liquid (use any kind of food coloring you like) with floating bubbles that can make a great bedroom ornament. It’s quick and simple, too, requiring just 30 minutes to create overall.

13. Homemade Science Christmas Ornament

Perfect for the holidays, this homemade science Christmas ornament experiment will get the kids to create glowing crystal icicles that can be hung outside or on the Christmas tree. It’s simple as well, only requiring borax powder, pipe cleaners, and string or twine.

To perform this chemical reaction experiment, you’ll need to add boiling hot water to a glass jar with borax. Twist the pipe cleaner around a pencil or pen to create a winding shape, then lower the pipe cleaner into the mixture with string. Leave until crystals start to form!

So there you have it: a list of awesome chemical experiments you can do at home to teach kids about the fascinating world of chemistry. These experiments are fun, educational, and sure to amaze kids of all ages!

Don’t forget: For health and safety reasons, just make sure to supervise your child while doing the above experiments or, if you’re a teacher, conduct the experiments in class or have the child’s parents supervise them at home.

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72 Easy Science Experiments Using Materials You Already Have On Hand

Because science doesn’t have to be complicated.

If there is one thing that is guaranteed to get your students excited, it’s a good science experiment! While some experiments require expensive lab equipment or dangerous chemicals, there are plenty of cool projects you can do with regular household items. We’ve rounded up a big collection of easy science experiments that anybody can try, and kids are going to love them!

Easy Chemistry Science Experiments

Easy physics science experiments, easy biology and environmental science experiments, easy engineering experiments and stem challenges.

1. Taste the Rainbow

Teach your students about diffusion while creating a beautiful and tasty rainbow! Tip: Have extra Skittles on hand so your class can eat a few!

Learn more: Skittles Diffusion

2. Crystallize sweet treats

Crystal science experiments teach kids about supersaturated solutions. This one is easy to do at home, and the results are absolutely delicious!

Learn more: Candy Crystals

3. Make a volcano erupt

This classic experiment demonstrates a chemical reaction between baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and vinegar (acetic acid), which produces carbon dioxide gas, water, and sodium acetate.

Learn more: Best Volcano Experiments

4. Make elephant toothpaste

This fun project uses yeast and a hydrogen peroxide solution to create overflowing “elephant toothpaste.” Tip: Add an extra fun layer by having kids create toothpaste wrappers for plastic bottles.

5. Blow the biggest bubbles you can

Add a few simple ingredients to dish soap solution to create the largest bubbles you’ve ever seen! Kids learn about surface tension as they engineer these bubble-blowing wands.

Learn more: Giant Soap Bubbles

6. Demonstrate the “magic” leakproof bag

All you need is a zip-top plastic bag, sharp pencils, and water to blow your kids’ minds. Once they’re suitably impressed, teach them how the “trick” works by explaining the chemistry of polymers.

Learn more: Leakproof Bag

7. Use apple slices to learn about oxidation

Have students make predictions about what will happen to apple slices when immersed in different liquids, then put those predictions to the test. Have them record their observations.

Learn more: Apple Oxidation

8. Float a marker man

Their eyes will pop out of their heads when you “levitate” a stick figure right off the table! This experiment works due to the insolubility of dry-erase marker ink in water, combined with the lighter density of the ink.

Learn more: Floating Marker Man

9. Discover density with hot and cold water

There are a lot of easy science experiments you can do with density. This one is extremely simple, involving only hot and cold water and food coloring, but the visuals make it appealing and fun.

Learn more: Layered Water

10. Layer more liquids

This density demo is a little more complicated, but the effects are spectacular. Slowly layer liquids like honey, dish soap, water, and rubbing alcohol in a glass. Kids will be amazed when the liquids float one on top of the other like magic (except it is really science).

Learn more: Layered Liquids

11. Grow a carbon sugar snake

Easy science experiments can still have impressive results! This eye-popping chemical reaction demonstration only requires simple supplies like sugar, baking soda, and sand.

Learn more: Carbon Sugar Snake

12. Mix up some slime

Tell kids you’re going to make slime at home, and watch their eyes light up! There are a variety of ways to make slime, so try a few different recipes to find the one you like best.

13. Make homemade bouncy balls

These homemade bouncy balls are easy to make since all you need is glue, food coloring, borax powder, cornstarch, and warm water. You’ll want to store them inside a container like a plastic egg because they will flatten out over time.

Learn more: Make Your Own Bouncy Balls

14. Create eggshell chalk

Eggshells contain calcium, the same material that makes chalk. Grind them up and mix them with flour, water, and food coloring to make your very own sidewalk chalk.

Learn more: Eggshell Chalk

15. Make naked eggs

This is so cool! Use vinegar to dissolve the calcium carbonate in an eggshell to discover the membrane underneath that holds the egg together. Then, use the “naked” egg for another easy science experiment that demonstrates osmosis .

Learn more: Naked Egg Experiment

16. Turn milk into plastic

This sounds a lot more complicated than it is, but don’t be afraid to give it a try. Use simple kitchen supplies to create plastic polymers from plain old milk. Sculpt them into cool shapes when you’re done!

17. Test pH using cabbage

Teach kids about acids and bases without needing pH test strips! Simply boil some red cabbage and use the resulting water to test various substances—acids turn red and bases turn green.

Learn more: Cabbage pH

18. Clean some old coins

Use common household items to make old oxidized coins clean and shiny again in this simple chemistry experiment. Ask kids to predict (hypothesize) which will work best, then expand the learning by doing some research to explain the results.

Learn more: Cleaning Coins

19. Pull an egg into a bottle

This classic easy science experiment never fails to delight. Use the power of air pressure to suck a hard-boiled egg into a jar, no hands required.

Learn more: Egg in a Bottle

20. Blow up a balloon (without blowing)

Chances are good you probably did easy science experiments like this when you were in school. The baking soda and vinegar balloon experiment demonstrates the reactions between acids and bases when you fill a bottle with vinegar and a balloon with baking soda.

21 Assemble a DIY lava lamp

This 1970s trend is back—as an easy science experiment! This activity combines acid-base reactions with density for a totally groovy result.

22. Explore how sugary drinks affect teeth

The calcium content of eggshells makes them a great stand-in for teeth. Use eggs to explore how soda and juice can stain teeth and wear down the enamel. Expand your learning by trying different toothpaste-and-toothbrush combinations to see how effective they are.

Learn more: Sugar and Teeth Experiment

23. Mummify a hot dog

If your kids are fascinated by the Egyptians, they’ll love learning to mummify a hot dog! No need for canopic jars , just grab some baking soda and get started.

24. Extinguish flames with carbon dioxide

This is a fiery twist on acid-base experiments. Light a candle and talk about what fire needs in order to survive. Then, create an acid-base reaction and “pour” the carbon dioxide to extinguish the flame. The CO2 gas acts like a liquid, suffocating the fire.

25. Send secret messages with invisible ink

Turn your kids into secret agents! Write messages with a paintbrush dipped in lemon juice, then hold the paper over a heat source and watch the invisible become visible as oxidation goes to work.

Learn more: Invisible Ink

26. Create dancing popcorn

This is a fun version of the classic baking soda and vinegar experiment, perfect for the younger crowd. The bubbly mixture causes popcorn to dance around in the water.

27. Shoot a soda geyser sky-high

You’ve always wondered if this really works, so it’s time to find out for yourself! Kids will marvel at the chemical reaction that sends diet soda shooting high in the air when Mentos are added.

Learn more: Soda Explosion

28. Send a teabag flying

Hot air rises, and this experiment can prove it! You’ll want to supervise kids with fire, of course. For more safety, try this one outside.

Learn more: Flying Tea Bags

29. Create magic milk

This fun and easy science experiment demonstrates principles related to surface tension, molecular interactions, and fluid dynamics.

Learn more: Magic Milk Experiment

30. Watch the water rise

Learn about Charles’s Law with this simple experiment. As the candle burns, using up oxygen and heating the air in the glass, the water rises as if by magic.

Learn more: Rising Water

31. Learn about capillary action

Kids will be amazed as they watch the colored water move from glass to glass, and you’ll love the easy and inexpensive setup. Gather some water, paper towels, and food coloring to teach the scientific magic of capillary action.

Learn more: Capillary Action

32. Give a balloon a beard

Equally educational and fun, this experiment will teach kids about static electricity using everyday materials. Kids will undoubtedly get a kick out of creating beards on their balloon person!

Learn more: Static Electricity

33. Find your way with a DIY compass

Here’s an old classic that never fails to impress. Magnetize a needle, float it on the water’s surface, and it will always point north.

Learn more: DIY Compass

34. Crush a can using air pressure

Sure, it’s easy to crush a soda can with your bare hands, but what if you could do it without touching it at all? That’s the power of air pressure!

35. Tell time using the sun

While people use clocks or even phones to tell time today, there was a time when a sundial was the best means to do that. Kids will certainly get a kick out of creating their own sundials using everyday materials like cardboard and pencils.

Learn more: Make Your Own Sundial

36. Launch a balloon rocket

Grab balloons, string, straws, and tape, and launch rockets to learn about the laws of motion.

37. Make sparks with steel wool

All you need is steel wool and a 9-volt battery to perform this science demo that’s bound to make their eyes light up! Kids learn about chain reactions, chemical changes, and more.

Learn more: Steel Wool Electricity

38. Levitate a Ping-Pong ball

Kids will get a kick out of this experiment, which is really all about Bernoulli’s principle. You only need plastic bottles, bendy straws, and Ping-Pong balls to make the science magic happen.

39. Whip up a tornado in a bottle

There are plenty of versions of this classic experiment out there, but we love this one because it sparkles! Kids learn about a vortex and what it takes to create one.

Learn more: Tornado in a Bottle

40. Monitor air pressure with a DIY barometer

This simple but effective DIY science project teaches kids about air pressure and meteorology. They’ll have fun tracking and predicting the weather with their very own barometer.

Learn more: DIY Barometer

41. Peer through an ice magnifying glass

Students will certainly get a thrill out of seeing how an everyday object like a piece of ice can be used as a magnifying glass. Be sure to use purified or distilled water since tap water will have impurities in it that will cause distortion.

Learn more: Ice Magnifying Glass

42. String up some sticky ice

Can you lift an ice cube using just a piece of string? This quick experiment teaches you how. Use a little salt to melt the ice and then refreeze the ice with the string attached.

Learn more: Sticky Ice

43. “Flip” a drawing with water

Light refraction causes some really cool effects, and there are multiple easy science experiments you can do with it. This one uses refraction to “flip” a drawing; you can also try the famous “disappearing penny” trick .

Learn more: Light Refraction With Water

44. Color some flowers

We love how simple this project is to re-create since all you’ll need are some white carnations, food coloring, glasses, and water. The end result is just so beautiful!

45. Use glitter to fight germs

Everyone knows that glitter is just like germs—it gets everywhere and is so hard to get rid of! Use that to your advantage and show kids how soap fights glitter and germs.

Learn more: Glitter Germs

46. Re-create the water cycle in a bag

You can do so many easy science experiments with a simple zip-top bag. Fill one partway with water and set it on a sunny windowsill to see how the water evaporates up and eventually “rains” down.

Learn more: Water Cycle

47. Learn about plant transpiration

Your backyard is a terrific place for easy science experiments. Grab a plastic bag and rubber band to learn how plants get rid of excess water they don’t need, a process known as transpiration.

Learn more: Plant Transpiration

48. Clean up an oil spill

Before conducting this experiment, teach your students about engineers who solve environmental problems like oil spills. Then, have your students use provided materials to clean the oil spill from their oceans.

Learn more: Oil Spill

49. Construct a pair of model lungs

Kids get a better understanding of the respiratory system when they build model lungs using a plastic water bottle and some balloons. You can modify the experiment to demonstrate the effects of smoking too.

Learn more: Model Lungs

50. Experiment with limestone rocks

Kids  love to collect rocks, and there are plenty of easy science experiments you can do with them. In this one, pour vinegar over a rock to see if it bubbles. If it does, you’ve found limestone!

Learn more: Limestone Experiments

51. Turn a bottle into a rain gauge

All you need is a plastic bottle, a ruler, and a permanent marker to make your own rain gauge. Monitor your measurements and see how they stack up against meteorology reports in your area.

Learn more: DIY Rain Gauge

52. Build up towel mountains

This clever demonstration helps kids understand how some landforms are created. Use layers of towels to represent rock layers and boxes for continents. Then pu-u-u-sh and see what happens!

Learn more: Towel Mountains

53. Take a play dough core sample

Learn about the layers of the earth by building them out of Play-Doh, then take a core sample with a straw. ( Love Play-Doh? Get more learning ideas here. )

Learn more: Play Dough Core Sampling

54. Project the stars on your ceiling

Use the video lesson in the link below to learn why stars are only visible at night. Then create a DIY star projector to explore the concept hands-on.

Learn more: DIY Star Projector

55. Make it rain

Use shaving cream and food coloring to simulate clouds and rain. This is an easy science experiment little ones will beg to do over and over.

Learn more: Shaving Cream Rain

56. Blow up your fingerprint

This is such a cool (and easy!) way to look at fingerprint patterns. Inflate a balloon a bit, use some ink to put a fingerprint on it, then blow it up big to see your fingerprint in detail.

57. Snack on a DNA model

Twizzlers, gumdrops, and a few toothpicks are all you need to make this super-fun (and yummy!) DNA model.

Learn more: Edible DNA Model

58. Dissect a flower

Take a nature walk and find a flower or two. Then bring them home and take them apart to discover all the different parts of flowers.

59. Craft smartphone speakers

No Bluetooth speaker? No problem! Put together your own from paper cups and toilet paper tubes.

Learn more: Smartphone Speakers

60. Race a balloon-powered car

Kids will be amazed when they learn they can put together this awesome racer using cardboard and bottle-cap wheels. The balloon-powered “engine” is so much fun too.

Learn more: Balloon-Powered Car

61. Build a Ferris wheel

You’ve probably ridden on a Ferris wheel, but can you build one? Stock up on wood craft sticks and find out! Play around with different designs to see which one works best.

Learn more: Craft Stick Ferris Wheel

62. Design a phone stand

There are lots of ways to craft a DIY phone stand, which makes this a perfect creative-thinking STEM challenge.

63. Conduct an egg drop

Put all their engineering skills to the test with an egg drop! Challenge kids to build a container from stuff they find around the house that will protect an egg from a long fall (this is especially fun to do from upper-story windows).

Learn more: Egg Drop Challenge Ideas

64. Engineer a drinking-straw roller coaster

STEM challenges are always a hit with kids. We love this one, which only requires basic supplies like drinking straws.

Learn more: Straw Roller Coaster

65. Build a solar oven

Explore the power of the sun when you build your own solar ovens and use them to cook some yummy treats. This experiment takes a little more time and effort, but the results are always impressive. The link below has complete instructions.

Learn more: Solar Oven

66. Build a Da Vinci bridge

There are plenty of bridge-building experiments out there, but this one is unique. It’s inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s 500-year-old self-supporting wooden bridge. Learn how to build it at the link, and expand your learning by exploring more about Da Vinci himself.

Learn more: Da Vinci Bridge

67. Step through an index card

This is one easy science experiment that never fails to astonish. With carefully placed scissor cuts on an index card, you can make a loop large enough to fit a (small) human body through! Kids will be wowed as they learn about surface area.

68. Stand on a pile of paper cups

Combine physics and engineering and challenge kids to create a paper cup structure that can support their weight. This is a cool project for aspiring architects.

Learn more: Paper Cup Stack

69. Test out parachutes

Gather a variety of materials (try tissues, handkerchiefs, plastic bags, etc.) and see which ones make the best parachutes. You can also find out how they’re affected by windy days or find out which ones work in the rain.

Learn more: Parachute Drop

70. Recycle newspapers into an engineering challenge

It’s amazing how a stack of newspapers can spark such creative engineering. Challenge kids to build a tower, support a book, or even build a chair using only newspaper and tape!

Learn more: Newspaper STEM Challenge

71. Use rubber bands to sound out acoustics

Explore the ways that sound waves are affected by what’s around them using a simple rubber band “guitar.” (Kids absolutely love playing with these!)

Learn more: Rubber Band Guitar

72. Assemble a better umbrella

Challenge students to engineer the best possible umbrella from various household supplies. Encourage them to plan, draw blueprints, and test their creations using the scientific method.

Learn more: Umbrella STEM Challenge

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Easy and Fun Chemical Reaction Experiments

Chemistry Projects With Oxidation

When you think of chemistry, you perhaps first imagine balancing chemical reactions or solving problems, and maybe doing some lab experiments with powders including names you've never heard of.

But potentially cool chemical reactions for school demonstrations or just your own amusement and learning are happening all around you, and many chemical reaction experiments are easily and safely performed using easily obtained reagents, or reactants.

A reaction involves changes to molecules or atoms, and to show immediate and decisive chemical change, experiments with various solids, liquids and gases can illustrate the basics of this discipline nicely. Whether you are looking for college chemistry experiments or something more basic, read ahead for ideas.

Types of Chemical Reactions

The five basic types of chemical reactions, in brief, are:

• Combustion , where oxygen gas and a fuel combine to liberate lots of heat and a variety of different products, often elemental carbon;
• Composition , where multiple substances join to form one;
• Decomposition , which creates multiple substances from a single reactant;
• Single displacement , in which one element "kicks off" another from a molecule to form a new compound and a new element;
• Double displacement , in which two compounds swap anions and cations to generate two new compounds.

Examples of Chemical Reaction Experiments

Vinegar and baking soda : When you mix ordinary baking soda with white vinegar (a dilute solution of acetic acid), the acid reacts with the base, donating a proton that quickly displaces the sodium from sodium bicarbonate to create carbonic acid. This acid then decomposes into water and carbon dioxide gas, the bubbles you see rapidly forming in the mixture as a result.

This series of reactions is represented by the following chemical equations:

NaHCO 3 + CH 3 COOH → Na + + CH 3 COO _ + H 2 CO 3

H 2 CO 3 → H 2 O + CO 2

Slowing the browning of fruit : You have probably noticed that when you slice an apple in two and leave it out, the exposed surface of the apple usually turns brown in a matter of hours. This is because the oxygen molecules in air easily interact with the sugars in the apple, with the resulting oxidation products showing a telltale brown. (The rusting of iron occurs by a similar but far slower oxidation process.)

If you place a sliced apple in water, the water will delay the oxidation by shielding the apple from some of the oxygen molecules, but eventually oxygen finds its way to the apple and begins its dirty work. Placing lemon juice (ascorbic acid, best known as vitamin C) in the water slows the oxidation further by serving as a decoy: The oxygen would "rather" oxidize the acid than the apple. (This is a simple example of a food preservative .)

Pasta rocket : In the presence of the enzyme catalyst yeast, household hydrogen peroxide undergoes a far more rapid decomposition than it otherwise would to liberate oxygen gas:

H 2 O 2 → H 2 + O 2

The yeast is not included in the reaction because it is not itself changed; it is a manipulator of in-process events, speeding them up as much as millions of times over.

• See the Resources for a video on how this oxygen can be put to striking use in making a kitchen "rocket."

Lava lamp light : You can create your own version of the classic lava lamp by mixing cooking oil and plain water in a large jar. The oil is less dense than the water, and floats to the top in a single layer. When you add food coloring, this water-based solution also sinks to the bottom. If you then drop an Alka-Seltzer or its generic equivalent into the jar, the acid and the base kept segregated in the solid tablet can react, releasing carbon dioxide gas.

As the energy of the gas molecules propels them toward the surface, they pull along some of the colored water molecules. When the carbon dioxide bubbles to the top of the oil-air interface and is released, the colored droplets slowly descend through the oil layer back toward the bottom of the jar.

Related Articles

Examples of single replacement reactions, chemical reactions to do at home, what is a synthesis reaction, five ways to see chemical reactions, chemical reactions that cause color change, potassium permanganate experiments, how to make a hard boiled egg go into a coke bottle, fun chemistry experiments for high schools, which liquids will tarnish a penny faster, magic science tricks for kids, how to rust a penny, what chemicals rust metal rapidly, baking powder science projects, how to neutralize food coloring in water, junior science fair projects on releasing carbon dioxide..., enzyme activity in apples, experiments with salt and vinegar, science projects with dishwashing liquid.

• Fizzics Education: How to Keep Fruit from Going Brown
• Business Insider: 8 Simple Science Experiments You Can Do at Home
• NightHawkInLight (YouTube): Make A Hybrid Rocket Engine With Pasta, Hydrogen Peroxide, And Yeast

About the Author

Kevin Beck holds a bachelor's degree in physics with minors in math and chemistry from the University of Vermont. Formerly with ScienceBlogs.com and the editor of "Run Strong," he has written for Runner's World, Men's Fitness, Competitor, and a variety of other publications. More about Kevin and links to his professional work can be found at www.kemibe.com.

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50 Chemistry Projects That Will Amaze Kids!

February 26, 2019 by Ana Dziengel 5 Comments

Chemistry projects feel like magic , do they not? If you think about some of your favorite science projects, the ones you love to try with your kids or the ones that amazed YOU as a kid, more likely than not most of them involved chemistry.

Now I know a lot of us associate chemistry with lab coats, beakers and specialty ingredients but the reality is there are so many chemistry projects you can do using very simple, easy to find ingredients, often found in your own pantry. And since these types of simple chemistry projects use relatively safe ingredients, they are perfect to try with younger kids, ie. preschool and elementary aged children! In fact I think it’s so important for young kids to have a positive association with chemistry from a young age that fosters a love of this branch of science.

When most children are finally exposed to chemistry in school, it is at the high school level where the subject turns complex quickly; hopefully giving kids a chance to have fun at young age mixing up concoctions and watching chemical reactions will help carry their interest through the more complicated days of study ahead.

This post is a GIANT compilation of  chemistry projects that would be great for the science fair, classroom demos, or at home science with your kids.

Before we get started let’s talk a little bit about what chemistry is and for parents I also included a section covering How to Do Chemistry Projects at Home. If you are a classroom teacher you can skip this section and head right to the projects here.

What is chemistry?

Chemistry is the branch of science that studies matter (anything that has mass and takes up space) and its properties, and how different substances (especially molecules and their atoms) interact, combine, and change to form new substances.

Here are some important definitions to know when working on chemistry projects:

• Element A substance that cannot be separated into any further substances. There are 120 known elements.
• Atom The smallest particle of an element
• Molecule Groups of atoms held together by a chemical bond.
• Ion  An atom or molecule that has an electric charge

While most people think of chemistry purely in terms of chemical reactions, chemistry also covers the study of the states of matter as well as the density of substances.

The five branches of chemistry are:

• Analytical chemistry
• Physical chemistry
• Organic chemistry
• Inorganic chemistry
• Biochemistry

Read more about what each branch covers here.

How to Do Chemistry Projects at Home

Many chemistry projects can be done at home using simple materials and are a great way to foster a love of science in kids! I wholeheartedly believe that a wow factor in a project engages and inspires kids to learn more. If you want to try chemistry projects at home here are some suggestions and precautions:

Safety First

Even though most of the projects in this list use safe, easy to find materials they should be used with safety precautions and under adult supervision. Why? Sometimes the chemical reaction that ensues can irritate the skin or eye, can be harmful if swallowed, or is just plain sticky or  messy and adults should be on hand to supervise use . Also be advised that there are a few projects on this list that do use materials that are unsafe for kids to handle. These projects are meant to be demonstrations only and are labeled  accordingly.

• Use household items for chemistry   The classic chemistry project that never fails to impress is the reaction of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and vinegar (look for a number of variations on this classic in our Acids and Bases section) but there are lots of other great ingredients for chemistry to find in your kitchen including sugar, salt, yeast, lemons, dish soap, milk, Kool- Aid, cabbage, gelatin, and food coloring to name a few…before you order any materials online, try some projects with pantry essentials.
• Safety Goggles
• Large plastic beakers
• Prepare for mess Since a lot of chemistry involves reactions and the ensuing mess, be sure to choose a place in your home that you can easily clean up and where you won’t worry about getting dirty. A patio, breakfast area, or the garage are great choices.
• Generous work area Be sure to have a large table available so everyone has plenty of room to work and/or view projects without bumping into each other.
• Access to Water Clean up is always easier with water at the ready! Choose a location near a hose or shop sink.

Managing Messes

• Hose it down  Depending on the project I suggest doing super messy chemical reactions outside. That way spills can be hosed down easily.
• Painter’s Tarp & Trays  If you cannot go outside a large plastic painter’s tarp is a great way to contain spills and mess. I also highly recommend doing projects on trays or cookie sheets. The raised edges help contain bubbly brews and are easy to dump out and wash.
• Dump station Have a bucket nearby to act as dump station for liquid reactions. Bring it around a table and dump at each station.
• Think about disposal Vinegar kills grass! Slime bits clogs drains! Be sure to consider where you can dump out the liquids safely.

Chemistry Projects for Kids

The following chemistry projects for kids are sorted by topic: Chemical Reactions, Acids and Bases, Carbon Reactions, Chromatography, Colloids & Solutions, Polymers,  and Crystals.

Please note that many if these projects could fit in two or more categories in this post as they demonstrate various scientific and chemical processes. I only classified them once on this list.

Chemistry Projects with Chemical Reactions 

What is a chemical reaction.

Chemical reactions occur when the chemical bonds in a substance are either destroyed or created. In other words the bonds in a molecule are broken during a chemical reaction and the atoms rearranged to create new molecules. Interestingly enough the number of original atoms does not change during the reaction, they are simply reconfigured.

An easy way to explain chemical reactions to kids is to use this analogy: Atoms are like letters, molecules are like words. Chemistry is like taking apart words and rearranging the letters to form a new word.

Read more about chemical reactions here.

Chemical Reactions Projects:

1. milk painting, 2. citrus battery, 3. elephant toothpaste.

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4. Density Lava Lamps

To make a density lava lamp fill a plastic bottle with the following liquids: Clear corn syrup, water with a few drops of food coloring, and  layer of vegetable oil. Be sure to leave a space at the top of the bottle. Wait until the liquids settle then add in a tablet of extra strength alka seltzer. Watch as the alka seltzer and water react and bubble up through the oil layer.   To see this in a  step by step video check out this video (Pssst this is one of our students!!!)

5. Plastic Milk   and Curds & Whey Experiment

6 . color mixing.

Pour water into three clear plastic cups, then add blue, red, and yellow food coloring to each. Have an additional cup full of uncolored water available as well. Give your child an empty ice cube tray and pipettes and let them create different colors by mixing different ratios of two different primary colors in each ice cube compartment. The secondary colors are new colors created from two primary colors. This is a simple visual of how chemical reactions work.

7. Chemistry Clock

8. blow balloons with yeast and sugar, 9. shiny pennies.

• Collect dirty tarnished pennies.
• Pour different acidic liquids into shallow containers. Try vinegar, salsa, lemon & lime juice.
• Add a teaspoon of salt to each container and stir to combine.
• Place a handful of pennies in each container and soak for 5 minutes.
• Remove them from the solution and rinse in soapy water. Let dry on separate paper towels.
• Compare the results! Which ones are shiniest? Which are dull? Did any turn green?

Acids are corrosive and sour tasting. Liquids such as vinegar, lemon juice, and tomato juice are acids. Pennies are made from copper which tarnishes (turns dark) when exposed to oxygen over time. Placing the copper pennies in an acid will clean the copper oxide off them and make them shiny again.

Learn about Acids and Bases

Most liquids are either an acid or a base. Liquids with lots of hydrogen ions in them are considered acids. Liquids with many hydroxide ions are bases. Scientists use a scale called the ph scale to measure how acidic or basic a liquid is. The more hydrogen ions in a liquid the more acidic it is and ranks low on the ph scale. The more hydroxide ions in a liquid the more basic it is and ranks high on the ph scale.  You can see what that looks like here.

When acids and bases are mixed chemical reactions occur and the solution becomes neutralized.

Acid and Bases Projects:

1. baking soda & vinegar volcano, 2. lemon volcano, 3. the colorful cabbage juice science experiment   and acid base experiment with cabbage, 4. dancing rice, 5. green eggs & ham, 6. bubbly citric acid brew , 7. baking soda vs baking powder science experiment, 8. exploding bags, 9. rainbow rubber eggs , 10. surprise eggs  , 11. rainbow wizard’s brew, chemistry projects with fire (carbon reactions).

Carbon is the most important element for life. Chemicals that contain carbon are called organic compounds.  Carbon has two main forms: The first is in the hard form of diamonds and graphite, and the second is the impure form found in charcoal, coal and soot.

SAFTEY WARNING: Carbon reactions are always fascinating to watch however the presence of fire means that these experiments must be supervised by adults at all times!  

Carbon Reactions Projects:

1. smoking fingers, 2. fire snake, 3. silver egg, 4. invisible ink, chromatography.

Chromatography is the process of separating mixtures. We usually think of it in terms of color hence the prefix -chroma, however in chemistry is means simply a method of separating mixtures by letting them slowly move past each other. It applies to both liquids and gasses.  This is wonderful in-depth explanation of chromatography.

Chromatography Projects:

1. chromatography  .

In this project you will separate the color black into other colors. Fold a coffee filter in half. Fold in half two more times until you have a triangular shape. Color the tip of the coffee filter with washable black marker. Get a good coat of ink on the filter. Add a small amount of water to a plastic cup. Place the black tip of the coffee filter in the cup Wait and observe. Come back to the filter after an hour or two and see what happens to the ink. As the coffee filter absorbs water through capillary action, the black ink moves through the filter and is separated by the water into other colors. You should see blue, green and even red as the water separates the ink.

2. Chromatography Flowers

3. chromatography art, 4. chromatography bags, colloids and solutions/solubility.

Colloids and Solutions are two types of homogenous mixtures.

• Colloids are mixtures in which a small particles of a substance are suspended throughout another substance but not chemically bonded. They are stable though and do not separate. Examples of colloids are gelatin, butter, mayonnaise, fog and smoke.
• Solutions are mixtures in which the particles of one substance are completely dissolved in another substance. The solute is the substance being dissolved and the solvent is the substance doing the dissolving. An example of a solution is saltwater.

If you want a more in-depth primer on solutions and colloids hop over here .

Colloid Projects:

1. colloid examples, 2.  oobleck  , 3. make butter , 4. gelatin streaking, solutions/solubility projects:, 5. ice sculptures , 6. ice cream in a bag.

A printable of the science facts at play here

7. Skittles Science

8. magical water blossoms  <span data-mce-type=”bookmark” style=”display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;” class=”mce_selres_start”></span>, 9. diffusion art, 10. paint solubility  , 11. bleeding blossoms  .

A polymer is a substance made up of a long chain of molecules.  Polymers are typically flexible materials like plastic or gum.

The classic polymer kids LOVE to make is slime! Glue is already a polymer but when combined with sodium tetraborate (borax ) the protein molecules of the glue and the borate ions crosslink, making it harder for the molecules to move and forming the gooey, sticky, substance we know as slime.

Other polymers you are probably familiar with are plastic bags, balloons, instant snow, and even the powdery substance found in diapers that expands when wet.

Polymer Projects:

1. best basic slime  .

Bonus: Get the Science Behind Slime printable here

2. Heat Sensitive Slime

3. diy bouncy balls, 4. magic plastic bag experiment, 5. instant terrariums, 6. how to make paper, 7. skewer through balloon , 8. dry erase figure   and dry erase drawings, 9. recycled plastic flowers.

Crystals are a type of material that is formed by patterns of repeating molecules. There are four types of chemical bonds in crystals and therefore four categories of crystals. These are: Covalent, Molecular, Metallic, and Ionic Crystals. You can grow crystals by mixing up a super saturated solution (usually with a type of salt and water) and letting it settle over time so crystals will form. Check out the various types of easy to grow crystal below and go here to read more about the science of crystals .

Crystals Projects:

1. classic borax crystals , 2. overnight crystal garden, 3. egg geodes, 4. crystal wind catchers, 5. crystal landscapes, 6. candy geodes , 7. salt crystals, conclusion & more.

Alright you guys, do you feel like you have some good project ideas for exploring chemistry with kids? Many of these will make greats science fair projects. Be sure to start with them as a topic then start asking questions, form a hypotheses, and do some experiments.

Now I have to admit that I really fell in love with chemistry projects as an adult. Working with kids in camp, after school, and with my own kids at home I’ve had the chance to try fun chemistry projects and discovered that I love watching chemical reactions AND the reactions on the faces of kids and bystanders during demonstration or project!

If you have kids who fall in love with this branch of science please do check out the incredible book series Elements , Molecules , and Reactions by Theodore Gray (see the series in our Amazon science ideas list here ) The books are stunning, informative, easy to understand and, wait for it…funny!

Another valuable resource for kids who love chemistry is Mel Science’s Chemistry subscription box. They send you a starter kit for free with all the materials you’ll need and then each month you get a new chemistry experiment delivered to your door! This is great product because a lot of specialty chemistry ingredients are hard to find and these kits simplify getting the materials you need! Check it out here:

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February 26, 2019 at 10:31 pm

These were some really awesome projects. I really liked the Citrus Battery projects. It seems simple and easy for a young kid. I wish schools should give more focus to such experiments instead of shoving down the theoretical knowledge down the throat of young kids.

Carol Biggs says

March 1, 2019 at 4:58 am

Is all of this info available on book form?

Ana Dziengel says

March 6, 2019 at 5:49 am

Not at this time but that’s a great idea!

Betsy Mitten says

March 5, 2019 at 10:43 am

Thank you for making this fantastic collection of experiments with clear directions and easy to understand explanations of the science behind the fun! I know I’ll refer to this list often. I especially appreciate the way the experiments are classified/organized. I teach art with science connections and we are already planning on chalkboard and magnetic slime :). I’ll be sure to tag Babble Dabble Do when I post photos of work inspired by this on target collection!

Kyra Rodriguez says

March 5, 2019 at 10:54 pm

These are all great ideas! I’m pretty sure the kids will have fun and love this activities

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Science Fun

Crazy Chalk Chemical Reaction Science Experiment

In this fun and easy science experiment, we’re going to explore and investigate endothermic chemical reactions by mixing chalk and vinegar.

• Colored chalk
• Zip close baggie
• Clear plastic cup

Instructions:

• Put at least two different colors of chalk in the zip close baggie.
• Use the hammer to carefully smash the chalk into dust.
• Fill the clear plastic cup about ¾ of the way full with vinegar.
• Put about a tablespoon of the colored chalk dust into the vinegar and observe what happens.

EXPLORE AWESOME SCIENCE EXPERIMENT VIDEOS!

How it Works:

You may not have realized that regular old chalk fizzes and bubbles when mixed with vinegar. Chalk is made of calcium carbonate and when mixed with vinegar an endothermic chemical reaction occurs that releases carbon dioxide gas. This gas is what causes the fizzing and bubbles. 

Make This A Science Project:

Find a location that can get messy. Put the chalk dust in a new baggie. Add vinegar, seal the baggie securely, and observe what happens. Test different types and brands of chalk to see if there are any observable differences. 

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10 Amazing Chemical Reactions

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Mixing baking soda and vinegar is a popular way to see what happens when chemicals react. If you want to learn more about chemical reactions, there are plenty of others you can perform at home or in a school lab. The 10 below produce some of the most amazing results.

Thermite and Ice

CaesiumFluoride / Wikimedia Commons / CC by 3.0

The thermite reaction is basically an example of what happens when metal burns. What happens if you perform the thermite reaction on a block of ice? You get a spectacular explosion. The reaction is so stupendous that the "Mythbusters" team tested it and verified it was real.

Briggs-Rauscher Oscillating Clock

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This chemical reaction is amazing because it involves a cyclic color change . A colorless solution cycles through clear, amber, and deep blue for several minutes. Like most color change reactions, this demonstration is a good example of a redox reaction or oxidation-reduction.

Hot Ice or Sodium Acetate

Sodium acetate is a chemical that can be supercooled, meaning it can remain a liquid below its normal freezing point. The amazing part of this reaction is initiating crystallization. Pour supercooled sodium acetate onto a surface and it will solidify as you watch, forming towers and other interesting shapes. The chemical also is known as "hot ice" because the crystallization occurs at room temperature, producing crystals that resemble ice cubes.

Magnesium and Dry Ice Reaction

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When ignited, magnesium produces a very bright white light—this is why handheld sparkler fireworks are so brilliant. While you may think fire requires oxygen, this reaction demonstrates that carbon dioxide and magnesium can participate in a displacement reaction that produces fire without oxygen gas. When you light magnesium inside a block of dry ice, you get brilliant light.

Dancing Gummy Bear Reaction

The dancing gummy bear is a reaction between sugar and potassium chlorate, which produces violet fire and a lot of heat. It's an excellent introduction to the art of pyrotechnics because sugar and potassium chlorate are representative of a fuel and oxidizer, such as you might find in fireworks. There's nothing magical about the gummy bear. You can use any candy to supply the sugar. Depending on how you perform the reaction, though, you may get more of a sudden immolation than a bear tango.

Fire Rainbow

When metal salts are heated, the ions emit various colors of light. If you heat the metals in a flame, you get colored fire. While you can't simply mix different metals together to get a rainbow fire effect , if you line them up in a row, you can get all the colored flames of the visual spectrum.

Sodium and Chlorine Reaction

Sodium and chlorine react to form sodium chloride, or table salt. Sodium metal and chlorine gas don't do much on their own until a drop of water is added to get things going. This is an extremely exothermic reaction that generates a lot of heat and light.

Elephant Toothpaste Reaction

The elephant toothpaste reaction is the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, catalyzed by the iodide ion. The reaction produces a ton of hot, steamy foam, which can be colored or even striped to resemble certain kinds of toothpaste. Why is it called the elephant toothpaste reaction? Only an elephant tusk needs a strip of toothpaste as wide as the one produced by this amazing reaction.

Supercooled Water

If you chill water below its freezing point, it doesn't always freeze. Sometimes it supercools, which allows you to make it freeze on command. Aside from being amazing to observe, the crystallization of supercooled water into ice is a great reaction because just about anyone can obtain a bottle of water to try it out for themselves.

Sugar Snake

Mixing sugar (sucrose) with sulfuric acid produces carbon and steam. However, the sugar doesn't simply blacken. Rather, the carbon forms a steaming tower that pushes itself out of a beaker or glass, resembling a black snake. The reaction smells like burnt sugar, too. Another interesting chemical reaction can be produced by combining sugar with baking soda. Burning the mixture produces a safe "black snake" firework that burns as a coil of black ash but doesn't explode.

• 10 Fun Chemistry Demonstrations and Experiments
• Halloween Reaction or Old Nassau Reaction
• Color Change Chemistry Experiments
• How to Do the Color Change Chameleon Chemistry Demonstration
• Identify an Unknown Chemical Mixture
• Briggs-Rauscher Oscillating Color Change Reaction
• Equation for the Reaction Between Baking Soda and Vinegar
• Phosphate-Buffered Saline or PBS Solution
• How to Create an Exothermic Chemical Reaction
• Create a Magic Genie in a Bottle Effect (Chemistry)
• How to Perform the Dancing Gummi Bear Demonstration
• Silver Ornaments: A Holiday Chemistry Project
• The Blue Bottle Chemistry Demonstration
• You've Got Ingredients for a Chemical Volcano
• How to Make Chemical Piranha Solution
• Create an Endothermic Reaction

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Fun Chemical Reaction Experiments

Did you know that fizzing science is chemistry too? What makes the fizz and bubble, and the pop? A chemical reaction, of course! Here is our list of easy to set up chemical reaction experiments you can do at home or in the classroom. All of these easy chemistry experiments use common household ingredients. Suitable for indoors or especially fun to take outside!

CHEMICAL REACTIONS YOU CAN DO AT HOME

WHAT IS A CHEMICAL REACTION?

A chemical reaction is a process where two or more substances react together to form a new chemical substance. This might look like a gas being formed, cooking or baking, or milk souring.

Some chemical reactions take energy to get started in the form of heat while others produce heat when the substances react with each other.

Chemical reactions take place all around us. Cooking food is an example of a chemical reaction. Burning a candle is another example. Can you think of a chemical reaction you have seen?

Sometimes a physical change occurs that looks like a chemical reaction, like our exploding Mentos and Diet coke experiment . However, these experiments below are all great examples of chemical change , where a new substance is formed and the change is irreversible.

Learn more about physical change and chemical change .

Chemical reactions are just one form of chemistry! Learn about mixing saturated solutions, acid and bases , growing crystals, making slime and more with over 65 easy chemistry experiments for kids.

EASY CHEMICAL REACTIONS AT HOME

Can you do chemical reaction experiments at home? You bet! Is it hard? Nope!

What do you need to get started? Simply get up, walk into the kitchen, and start rummaging through cupboards. You are sure to find some or all of the household items you will need for these chemical reactions below.

Why not make up your own DIY science kit from inexpensive items from the grocery store or the dollar store, and items you may already have at home. Fill a plastic tote with supplies and you will have a science kit filled with learning opportunities that are sure to keep them busy all year long.

Check out our list of must-have simple science supplies and how to set up a science lab at home.

These chemical reactions work well with multiple age groups from preschool to elementary and beyond. Our activities have also been readily used with special needs groups in high school and young adult programs. Provide more or less adult supervision depending on your kids’ abilities!

We even have suggestions for easy chemical reactions for younger kiddos. Toddlers and preschoolers will love…

• Hatching Dinosaur Eggs
• Fizzing Easter Eggs
• Fizzing Moon Rocks
• Fizzy Frozen Stars
• Valentine’s Baking Soda

Grab this FREE printable Chemistry Experiments Ideas Pack to get started!

CHEMICAL REACTION SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT

Want to turn one of these experiments into a cool chemical reaction science project? Check out these helpful resources.

• Science Project Tips From A Teacher
• Science Fair Board Ideas
• Easy Science Fair Projects

Turn one of these chemical reactions into a fantastic presentation along with your hypothesis. Learn more about the scientific method for kids and variables in science .

FUN CHEMICAL REACTIONS FOR HOME OR SCHOOL

Here are some examples of chemical reactions that use everyday household items. What could be easier? Think baking soda, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, lemon juice, Alka Seltzer tablets, and more!

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Physics Experiments for Kids

Alka Seltzer Rocket

Use the chemical reaction that happens when you add an Alka Seltzer tablet to water to make this cool DIY Alka Seltzer rocket.

Apple Browning Experiment

Why do apples turn brown? It is all to do with a chemical reaction between the cut part of the apple and air.

Balloon Experiment

Use a classic baking soda and vinegar reaction to inflate a balloon.

Make homemade bath bombs for a fun chemical reaction in your bath. Try our Christmas bath bomb recipe or make Halloween bath bombs . The base ingredients are the same, citric acid and baking soda.

Baking Powder Science

Find out what happens to baking powder when you add water. Here is a simple acid-base reaction that you use in baking.

Bottle Rocket

Turn a simple water bottle into a DIY water bottle rocket using a baking soda and vinegar chemical reaction.

Bread In A Bag

A chemical reaction you can eat! The chemical change is in the dough, notice what it looks like raw and then cooked. Follow our bread in a bag recipe for a fun treat the kids are sure to enjoy!

Citric Acid Experiment

Grab some oranges and lemons, and baking soda to experiment with citric chemical reactions!

Cranberry Experiment

What happens when you add baking soda to cranberry and lemon juice? Lots of fizzing action, of course!

Egg In Vinegar

Can you make a naked egg? Observe how a chemical reaction between calcium carbonate (eggshell) and vinegar makes for a bouncy egg.

Elephant Toothpaste

Kids of all ages will love this exothermic chemical reaction using hydrogen peroxide and yeast. Not only does it produce a lot of froth when the ingredients combine together. Hence the name! The reaction also produces heat.

Green Pennies

Explore how the patina of pennies forms from a chemical reaction. Try this fun penny experiment!

Invisible Ink

Write a message that no one else can see until the ink is revealed. Find out how to make your own invisible ink that is revealed with a simple chemical reaction.

Lava Lamp Experiment

This oil and water experiment does involve a bit of physics but it also includes a fun Alka Seltzer reaction!

Milk And Vinegar

Kids will be amazed by the transformation of a couple of common household ingredients, milk and vinegar, into a moldable, durable piece of a plastic-like substance.

Popping Bags

You will want to take this fun experiment outside! Try bursting bags with only a baking soda and vinegar reaction.

Make a homemade volcano project with salt dough and baking soda and vinegar reaction . Of course, there is so many more ways to have fun with baking soda and vinegar volcano.

• Sand Box Volcano
• Pumpkin Volcano
• Lego Volcano
• Apple Volcano
• Slime Volcano
• Snow Volcano

SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS BY AGE GROUPS

We’ve put together a few separate resources for different age groups, but remember that many experiments will cross over and can be re-tried at several different age levels. Younger kiddos can enjoy the simplicity and hands-on fun. At the same time, you can talk back and forth about what is happening.

As kiddos get older, they can bring more complexity to the experiments, including using the scientific method , developing hypotheses, exploring variables , creating different tests, and writing conclusions from analyzing data.

• Science for Toddlers
• Science for Preschoolers
• Science for Kindergarten
• Science for Early Elementary Grades
• Science for 3rd Grade
• Science for Middle School

MORE HELPFUL SCIENCE RESOURCES

Here are a few resources that will help you introduce science more effectively to your kiddos or students and feel confident yourself when presenting materials. You’ll find helpful free printables throughout.

• Best Science Practices (as it relates to the scientific method)
• Science Vocabulary
• 8 Science Books for Kids
• All About Scientists
• Science Supplies List
• Science Tools for Kids

Printable Science Projects For Kids

If you’re looking to grab all of our printable science projects in one convenient place plus exclusive worksheets and bonuses like a STEAM Project pack, our Science Project Pack is what you need! Over 300+ Pages!

• 90+ classic science activities  with journal pages, supply lists, set up and process, and science information.  NEW! Activity-specific observation pages!
• Best science practices posters  and our original science method process folders for extra alternatives!
• Be a Collector activities pack  introduces kids to the world of making collections through the eyes of a scientist. What will they collect first?
• Know the Words Science vocabulary pack  includes flashcards, crosswords, and word searches that illuminate keywords in the experiments!
• My science journal writing prompts  explore what it means to be a scientist!!
• Bonus STEAM Project Pack:  Art meets science with doable projects!
• Bonus Quick Grab Packs for Biology, Earth Science, Chemistry, and Physics

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Top 10 safe chemical reactions

Easy experiments to do at home

There are sev­er­al chem­i­cal re­ac­tions you can safe­ly and eas­i­ly per­form at home. The fol­low­ing ex­per­i­ments are gen­er­al­ly easy to find sup­plies for, easy to im­ple­ment, and safe with the ob­ser­vance of ba­sic pre­cau­tions. Which of these will end up on your to-do list?

1 — “Sug­ar snake”

This demon­stra­tion is like­ly the most spec­tac­u­lar ex­per­i­ment among safe chem­i­cal re­ac­tions. You’ll need a fire-re­sis­tant slab, a tablet of sol­id fuel, and two tablets of cal­ci­um glu­conate (most like­ly avail­able at your lo­cal phar­ma­cy). The ex­per­i­ment is sim­ple. Set the sol­id fuel on the tile and ig­nite it, then use tweez­ers to add two tablets of cal­ci­um glu­conate. Ob­serve as the sub­stance twists and morphs into long rib­bons that re­sem­ble snakes. This re­ac­tion has a sim­ple ex­pla­na­tion: as the cal­ci­um glu­conate burns, it re­leas­es car­bon diox­ide, which fills and dras­ti­cal­ly in­creas­es the vol­ume of the burnt sub­stance.

2 — Cop­per(II) hy­drox­ide and glu­cose

To con­duct this ex­per­i­ment, you’ll need cop­per(II) sul­fate, an al­ka­li so­lu­tion of sodi­um hy­drox­ide (sold in hard­ware stores), and a glu­cose so­lu­tion (sold in phar­ma­cies). Mix­ing cop­per(II) sul­fate and sodi­um hy­drox­ide will yield a blue pre­cip­i­tate. Grad­u­al­ly adding glu­cose and heat­ing will cause the blue pre­cip­i­tate to dis­ap­pear, and the so­lu­tion will turn first yel­low, then red.

3 — Chem­i­cal lamp

You’ll need a trans­par­ent bot­tle, wa­ter, sun­flow­er oil, an as­pirin, and red or blue food col­or­ing. To make the lamp, mix the sun­flow­er oil and wa­ter in the bot­tle. Pour the food col­or­ing into the emul­sion and add the as­pirin. Col­ored flakes will rise to the sur­face of the emul­sion with­out mix­ing with the oil. If you shine a light through the so­lu­tion in the dark, the lamp will glow a mes­mer­iz­ing red or blue.

5 — Mak­ing an iron nail “cop­per”

For this ex­per­i­ment, you’ll need a cop­per wire, an iron nail, acetic acid (vine­gar), ta­ble salt, and bak­ing soda. First, mix the vine­gar with the salt and im­merse an iron nail in the so­lu­tion. Then, clean the sur­face of the cop­per wire with bak­ing soda and place it in the so­lu­tion. Wait for half an hour and re­trieve the iron nail, which should now be cov­ered in cop­per. This oc­curs via two re­ac­tions: the re­ac­tion of cop­per with acetic acid in the pres­ence of at­mo­spher­ic oxy­gen, and the sub­sti­tu­tion of the ob­tained cop­per ac­etate with iron ac­etate.

6 — Non-flammable mon­ey

Ap­ply some potas­si­um alum so­lu­tion to a ban­knote. Place the treat­ed bill in a pa­per en­ve­lope, hold the en­ve­lope with tweez­ers, and set fire to it. The en­ve­lope will burn, but the ban­knote will re­main un­scathed. The mon­ey doesn’t burn due to the alum, which it­self does not burn, and doesn’t al­low the bill to burn.

7 — Non-flammable mon­ey (2)

To con­duct this ex­per­i­ment, you’ll need to mix half a glass of 96% ethyl al­co­hol and half a glass of wa­ter, then dis­solve a pinch of salt in the re­sult­ing so­lu­tion. Use tweez­ers to dip a ban­knote in the so­lu­tion for a few sec­onds, then take it out and and set fire to it with a lighter. The ethyl al­co­hol coat­ing the bill will burn away, while the sod­den ban­knote will re­main un­harmed. Once it dries out, you can use it just as you nor­mal­ly would!

8 — Starch and io­dine

To con­duct this ex­per­i­ment, you’ll need a heat-re­sis­tant flask, 20 g of starch, and 5 drops of io­dine so­lu­tion. Mix the starch with wa­ter, then add the io­dine so­lu­tion. At room tem­per­a­ture, the so­lu­tion turns dark blue. If you heat the ob­tained so­lu­tion on an elec­tric stove, it will turn col­or­less once again. This re­ac­tion can serve to prove that starch can form a com­pound with an io­dine so­lu­tion. As the so­lu­tion of io­dine and starch is un­sta­ble, the starch re­forms when heat is ap­plied, and the free io­dine evap­o­rates. Look here for more in­ter­est­ing ex­per­i­ments with starch.

9 — Potas­si­um per­man­ganate and hy­dro­gen per­ox­ide

First, pul­ver­ize a tablet of UHP (hy­dro­gen per­ox­ide - urea) and trans­fer the pow­der to a glass jar. Add liq­uid soap and wa­ter. Next, pre­pare an aque­ous so­lu­tion of potas­si­um per­man­ganate. Pour the potas­si­um per­man­ganate so­lu­tion into the glass jar with soap and hy­dro­gen per­ox­ide. Ob­serve the vi­o­lent ox­i­da­tion-re­duc­tion re­ac­tion and the for­ma­tion of pink foam. This re­ac­tion re­leas­es oxy­gen, which fills the liq­uid soap with gas bub­bles and helps cre­ate foam. The chem­i­cal re­ac­tion takes place ac­cord­ing to the equa­tion:

4KM­nO₄ + 4H₂O₂ = 4M­nO₂ + 5O₂↑+ 2H₂O + 4KOH

We should note that you ab­so­lute­ly should not touch the al­ka­line so­lu­tion ob­tained in the re­ac­tion.

Dozens of experiments you can do at home

One of the most exciting and ambitious home-chemistry educational projects The Royal Society of Chemistry

15 Easy Kitchen Science Experiments (With Ingredients You Already Have)

Krystal DeVille

September 19, 2023

Kitchens aren’t just for parents and making meals!

Kids can use kitchen ingredients and tools to learn from kitchen science experiments. Check out the following ideas for fun kitchen science.

—–You can download our FREE ebook with 25 STEM Activities here——

Table of Contents

1. Rubber Egg Experiment

• White vinegar
• Glass or jar

Cover an egg in a container with vinegar to see the shell disappear and the resulting egg that feels like rubber. Children learn about the chemical reaction between the eggshell (calcium carbonate) and the vinegar (acetic acid). Bubbles on the egg and on top of the water are from carbon dioxide. 

2.  Shaking for Butter

• Heavy whipping cream
• Jar with lid
• Sealable plastic bags

Using heavy whipping cream at various temperatures, kids shake the cream in a jar to observe changes in color and texture. They learn about emulsification and the butter-making process of churning, in which cream is agitated and fat particles begin clumping together. They can see whipped cream form first, followed by butter, when the air is no longer held by the cream.

3.   Bread in a Bag

• Plain flour
• Granulated sugar
• Rapid rise yeast

Your children mix ingredients to make dough in the plastic bag, then knead the dough to bake. They discover how yeast is a dormant fungus that can be awakened with warm water and sugar as a food source for fermentation. Children also observe bubbles that form when the yeast eats the sugar and gives off carbon dioxide.

4. Growing Plants from Food Scraps

• Pineapple top
• Green onion white root sections
• Avocado pit
• Wide-mouthed, clear jars or glasses

Kids poke toothpicks into a pineapple top and avocado pit and prop over jars filled with water, while the white (root) ends of the onions are placed directly in water. They can see how roots grow on the pineapple and avocado and how the green ends of the onions poke from the top as the roots in the water continue to grow. 

5. Lemon Volcano

• Craft sticks
• Food coloring
• Baking soda

Your kids place cut lemons in the bowl with dish soap, food coloring, and baking soda poked in with craft sticks. They observe the reaction between the acid (lemon) and base (baking soda). Carbon dioxide is released and appears in the bubbles, made even more visible with the help of the dish soap that captures the gas.

6. Rock Candy

• Bamboo skewers or wooden sticks
• Large glass jar

Children squirt colors into the water you’ve heated and added sugar to melt. They roll moistened sticks in dry sugar to make the seed crystals, then place those in the jar of the cooled mixture. See how a saturated solution allows the sugar molecules to bump into each other and start sticking together.

7. Baked Potato Science

• Large potatoes
• Plastic wrap
• Baked potato pins

Kids predict which method of cooking a potato will be the fastest in the regular oven: plain potato, in foil, with baking pin, in foil with baking pin OR in the microwave plain or in plastic wrap. They explore how the wrappings may hold heat within to steam, whether the pin helps heat enter the potato sooner, and if a microwave is faster than a traditional oven.

8. Magic Milk

• Milk (whole or 2%)
• Cotton swabs

Your children squeeze colors into a shallow dish of milk and then touch the milk with a swab soaked with dish soap, to see the various colors of milk shoot away from each other. They learn that fat in milk is a nonpolar molecule, which doesn’t dissolve in water. The soap makes the fat separates from the water.

9. Solar S’Mores

• Small, low boxes, such as pizza boxes
• Black construction paper
• Foil & plastic wrap
• Long wooden skewers
• Graham crackers
• Marshmallows
• Chocolate bars

Kids make their own solar ovens with the first 4 items and then build s’mores with the food ingredients. On a sunny day, they observe the effects of solar energy to melt the chocolate and make the marshmallows puff. Discuss the purpose of the foil (reflection) black paper (heat absorption) and plastic wrap (heat retention).

10. Walking Water

• Test tubes with rack OR clear plastic cups/jars
• Paper towels cut into thin strips

Children add water and different colors to the containers and stir, then place the paper towel strips into the containers, with two ends in each. They can see how the colored water “walks” through the fibers and spreads to meet and mix. This is a capillary action, which is the same way that plants, such as celery, take in water.

 11. Cake Experiment

• Baking powder
• Cooking oil
• Ramekins OR other small baking dishes

Bake four different cakes with the kids, leaving one important ingredient out of three: oil, egg, or baking powder. Kids predict the various effects in looks and flavor related to each missing ingredient. They learn that eggs add color, flavor, and structure; oil adds moisture and tenderness; and baking powder makes the cakes rise with its release of carbon dioxide.

12. How Does Salt Affect Ice?

• 5 clean tin cans
• Coarse rock salt
• Measuring spoons
• Digital thermometer (no-contact type)

Have children add the same number of ice cubes to each can and then add a teaspoon or 2 tablespoons of either table salt or rock salt into each, shaking them a bit to spread the salt. They observe condensation on the bottoms of the cans as the reactions begin. Help them take temperature readings to compare the effects in each can.

13. Sandwich Bag Compost

• Food waste in small pieces (veggies are best)
• Cardboard egg carton pieces
• Sandwich bags

Kids add the first two items with a bit of water to individual bags with the tops zipped most of the way and a straw inserted into a gap for air. Mush it up a bit each day and add more water, if needed for moisture. They observe on a small scale how composting turns food waste into soil.

14. Explore the Density of Liquids with Salt

• Clear glass
• Vegetable oil

Children pour oil into water to observe what happens, adding a drop of color on top, followed by larger and larger sprinkles of salt. They offer ideas of why the various movements take place. They learn water is denser than oil and salt are denser than the liquids.

15. Ice Cream in a Bag

• Small zipper sandwich bag
• Gallon-sized zipper bag 

In the small zipper bag, your child adds the first 3 ingredients and zips closed. Add salt and ice to the large bag and place the small bag inside the larger one and seal. They shake to make ice cream! Children can learn that salt (sodium chloride) lowers the freezing point of water so it can become even colder .

These kitchen science experiments are easy and require little planning! They’re great activities to learn the scientific method and for some of these food experiments, you can enjoy a tasty treat afterward too!

1 thought on “15 Easy Kitchen Science Experiments (With Ingredients You Already Have)”

Krystal, once again felt like I was back in a simpler time of my youth. That’s when I first saw some of these golden oldies in science class at school. Arthur B

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We can all agree that science is awesome. And you can bring that awesomeness into your very own home with these 20 safe DIY experiments you can do right now with ordinary household items.

1. Make Objects Seemingly Disappear Refraction is when light changes direction and speed as it passes from one object to another. Only visible objects reflect light. When two materials with similar reflective properties come into contact, light will pass through both materials at the same speed, rendering the other material invisible. Check out this video from BritLab  on how to turn glass invisible using vegetable oil and pyrex glass.

2. Freeze Water Instantly When purified water is cooled to just below freezing point, a quick nudge or an icecube placed in it is all it takes for the water to instantly freeze. You can finally have the power of Frozone from The Incredibles on a very small scale! Check out the video on this "cool" experiment. 

3. Create Oobleck And Make It Dance To The Music Named after a sticky substance in a children’s book by Dr Seuss , Oobleck is a non-Newtonian fluid, which means it can behave as both a solid and a liquid. And when placed on a sound source, the vibrations causes the mixture to gloopily dance. Check out these instructions from Housing A Forest  on how to make this groovy fluid funk out in every way.

4. Create Your Own Hybrid Rocket Engine With a combination of a solid fuel source and a liquid oxidizer, hybrid rocket engines can propel themselves. And on a small scale, you can create your own hybrid rocket engine, using pasta, mouthwash and yeast. Sadly, it won’t propel much, but who said rocket science ain’t easy? Check out this video from NightHawkInLight on how to make this mini engine.

5. Create "Magic Mud" Another non-Newtonian fluid here, this time from the humble potato. "Magic Mud" is actually starch found in potatoes. It’ll remain hard when handled but leave it alone and it turns into a liquid. Make your own “Magic Mud” with this video.

6. Command The Skies And Create A Cloud In A Bottle Not quite a storm in a teacup, but it is a cloud in a bottle. Clouds up in the sky are formed when water vapor cools and condenses into visible water droplets. Create your own cloud in a bottle using a few household items with these wikiHow instructions .

7. Create An Underwater Magical World First synthesized by Adolf van Baeyer in 1871, fluorescein is a non-toxic powder found in highlighter pens, and used by NASA to find shuttles that land in the sea. Create an underwater magical world with this video from NightHawkInLight .

9. Make Your Own Lava Lamp Inside a lava lamp are colored bubbles of wax suspended in a clear or colorless liquid, which changes density when warmed by a heating element at the base, allowing them to rise and fall hypnotically. Create your own lava lamp with these video instructions.

10. Create Magnetic Fluid A ferrofluid is a liquid that contains nanoscale particles of metal, which can become magnetized. And with oil, toner and a magnet , you can create your own ferrofluid and harness the power of magnetism! 

12. Make Waterproof Sand A hydrophobic substance is one that repels water. When sand is combined with a water-resistant chemical, it becomes hydrophobic. So when it comes into contact with water, the sand will remain dry and reusable. Make your own waterproof sand with this video .

13. Make Elephant's Toothpaste Elephant’s toothpaste is a steaming foamy substance created by the rapid decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, which sort of resembles giant-sized toothpaste. Make your own elephant’s toothpaste with these instructions.

14. Make Crystal Bubbles When the temperature falls below 0 o C (32 o F), it’s possible to freeze bubbles into crystals. No instructions needed here, just some bubble mix and chilly weather.

15. Make Moving Liquid Art Mixing dish soap and milk together causes the surface tension of the milk to break down. Throw in different food colorings and create this trippy chemical reaction.

16. Create Colourful Carnations Flowers absorb water through their stems, and if that water has food coloring in it, the flowers will also absorb that color. Create some wonderfully colored flowers with these wikiHow instructions .

17. "Magically" Turn Water Into Wine Turn water into wine with this  video  by experimenter Dave Hax . Because water has a higher density than wine, they can switch places. Amaze your friends with this fun science trick.

18. Release The Energy In Candy (Without Eating It) Dropping a gummy bear into a test tube with potassium chlorate releases the chemical energy inside in an intense chemical reaction. That’s exactly what's happening when you eat candy, kids.

19. Make Water "Mysteriously" Disappear Sodium polyacrylate is a super-absorbent polymer, capable of absorbing up to 300 times its own weight in water. Found in disposable diapers, you can make water disappear in seconds with this video .

20. Create A Rainbow In A Jar Different liquids have different masses and different densities. For example, oil is less dense than water and will float on top of its surface. By combining liquids of different densities and adding food coloring, you can make an entire rainbow in a jar with this video .

There you have it – 20 experiments for you to explore the incredible world of science!

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You might think people study chemistry only in laboratories or classrooms—but, actually, chemistry is everywhere!

We observe chemical reactions every day. Have you ever watched fireworks? That’s a chemical reaction. Have you ever found sour milk in your refrigerator? Another chemical reaction! There’s even chemistry happening inside your own body as you break down the food you eat into usable nutrients. In Chemical Reactions! With 25 Science Projects for Kids , readers ages 7 to 10 learn about the atoms and molecules that make up everything in our world and what happens when different atoms and molecules come in contact with each other.

Explore chemical reactions through 25 hands-on, STEM activities, fascinating facts, essential questions, links to online resources, and even jokes that help support deeper learning!

Try these hands-on chemistry experiments!

• Mix up some invisible ink
• Create a hydrophobic tower
• Make some magic sand
• Observe a disappearing eggshell

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Periodic Table of Elements

Introduction Chemistry Matters!

Chapter 1 Mixtures: Be a Detective

Chapter 2 Abracadabra: Chemical Reactions

Chapter 3 Water, Acids, and Bases

Chapter 4 It’s a Gas!

Chapter 5 Manmade Compounds

Glossary Metric Conversions Resources Essential Questions Index

Mars rock found by NASA rover indicates possible microbial life

July 26 (UPI) -- Spots found on a reddish Mars rock found by NASA's Perseverance rover have led scientists to believe the chemical reactions in the rock could have supported microbial life on the red planet billions of years ago.

According to NASA, analysis by the rover's instruments indicates the rock called "Cheyava Falls" possesses qualities that "fit the definition of a possible indicator of ancient life." Advertisement

NASA said the rock "exhibits chemical signatures and structures that could possibly have been formed by life billions of years ago when the area being explored by the rover contained running water."

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"We have designed the route for Perseverance to ensure that it goes to areas with the potential for interesting scientific samples ," said NASA Science Mission Directorate associate administrator Nicola Fox in a statement. "This trip through the Neretva Vallis riverbed paid off as we found something we've never seen before, which will give our scientists so much to study." Advertisement

The rock was scanned by the rover's SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals) instrument. The scan indicated organic compounds.

The carbon-based molecules are molecular building blocks of life, but they can also be formed by non-biological processes, according to NASA.

"Cheyava Falls is the most puzzling, complex, and potentially important rock yet investigated by Perseverance," said Ken Farley, Perseverance project scientist of Caltech in Pasadena in a statement.

He said while there's evidence in the rock indicating chemical reactions microbial life could use together with clear evidence of water that is necessary for life, scientists have yet to determine exactly how the rock formed.

Also discovered in the veins found in the rock were olivine crystals, a mineral formed from magma.

That poses the question of whether the mineral and sulfate could have been introduced into the rock at "uninhabitably high temperatures" creating a chemical reaction that resulted in the leopard-like spots found on the rock.

"To fully understand what really happened in that Martian river valley at Jezero Crater billions of years ago, we'd want to bring the Cheyava Falls sample back to Earth, so it can be studied with the powerful instruments available in laboratories," Farley said. Advertisement

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