If you love science or are looking for a cool home experiment to try with the kids, why not make your own lava lamp with ingredients normally found around the house.
For this, you’re going to need:
A Clear Plastic 2 Liter Soda Bottle
Vegetable Oil Water
Food Coloring
Alka Seltzer
Funnel (optional)
What to do:
Now, add your water to the bottle first. You’ll want to fill it about one-quarter full.
Next, pour in your vegetable oil, until the bottle is almost full. You might want to use a funnel for this.
Time to wait. You’ll need to wait until the oil and water have separated.
Drop in your food coloring. Use ten to twelve drops of any color you wish.
Allow enough time for the food coloring drops to fall through the oil and reach the water. This will take a few minutes.
Magic time. Cut your Alka Seltzer tablets into two pieces and drop them into the bottle. Try one at first, then add more as the bubbling dissipates.
How it works?
Oil is lighter than water, so it floated to the top of the bottle. This is called “intermolecular polarity.” Adding the Alka Seltzer created gas bubbles because the tablets contain critic acid and baking soda. It reacts to the water, forming sodium citrate and carbon dioxide.
There you have it! A fun science experiment to try with the kids. Once you’ve used all the Alka Seltzer, try screwing the top onto the bottle and tilting it from side to side to see what happens next.
Your fabulous lava lamp can be stored away and re-awakened any time you wish by adding more tablets.