Easy Homemade Faux Lava Lamps for Kids

The Lil Divas just can't get enough of all of our Mad Science Fun!
Everyday the beg me to do another experiment - it's wonderful.

To cap off our Mad Science Week we made
Faux Lava Lamps

Simple to make & so fun to watch!

What You Need:
clear bottle(s)
water
oil
food color
alka seltzer
(or silimar effervescent tablet)
funnel

What To Do:

1. Pour oil into your bottle -

filling it about 2/3 of the way

2. Pour water into your bottle -

a little less than 1/3 to leave some room at the top

3. Add food color of choice

the Lil Divas were "generous" with their coloring

4. Observe what happened to the food color

5. Cut 1 Alka Seltzer (or similar) tablet into 8 pieces

(you can use a larger piece if you have a big bottle)

This gave us a nice reaction and afforded us lots of pieces to add in & observe.

6. Add 1 piece of the tablet at a time & observe the reaction.

This was after a few pieces of the tablet -

COOL!

The Oldest Diva put about 2 tablets in hers

while I was helping her little sister cut her tablet!

She had lots of color bubbles & movement.

A very cool reaction of the color floating through the oil in bubbles.

The Lil Divas were mesmerized.

Note: Once you close the bottle the color drops back down to the bottom.
Add some more tablets and you get your faux lava lamp effect again!

The Science Behind It: 

Water & oil do not mix (you know that!) so when we add the water to the oil, it sinks to the bottom of the bottle. The food coloring mixes with the water but does not mix with the oil. The Alka-Seltzer tablet reacts with the water, making bubbles of carbon dioxide gas. Those bubbles attach themselves to the colored water making them float - hence the lava lamp effect. 

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If you enjoyed these activities as much as we did be sure to stop by on Sundays for a new feature - Science Sunday!

I will be bringing you more science ideas, experiments & demonstrations.

Bern