Messy Chemistry: Fun Science Activities for the Outdoors
Flying Soda
See what happens when you drop Mentos into a soda bottle!
- Directions, videos, and explanation
- Directions, with a different method of loading Mentos
- Commercially-available tube for loading Mentos
- “Mythbusters” television show clip of the demonstration
- Videos of large-scale Mentos and Diet Coke demonstrations
- Summary of research on Mentos geyser from Chemical and Engineering News
Alka Seltzer Rockets
Create a rocket using Alka Seltzer tablets. Canisters with lids that snap inside, such as clear Fuji canisters, work best. Ask your local drugstore that processes film for discards.
- Directions, with two rocket design challenges
- Directions, with suggestions for changing variables
- Directions, with a variation using soda
- Pattern for a rocket nose cone and body
Bubbles
Try these bubble-making experiments to find out which solution makes the best bubbles.
- Bubble mix recipe and directions with a mathematical twist
- Bubble mix recipes and suggested tools
- Bubble mix recipe, directions for a bubble-blowing tube, and more
- Directions for making a bubble wall and a “child in a bubble”
Gooey Goo
Mix up a batch of gooey ooblek!
- Directions for making “oobleck”, with explanations for both elementary and middle/high school students
- Kiddie pool of “oobleck”
- Video of cornstarch water-walk on The Ellen Show
- Lesson plan for making “oobleck” with 4th and 5th graders, connected to Dr. Seuss’s book “Bartholomew and the Oobleck”
Super-Erupting Foam
Use the Elephant’s Toothpaste demonstration in new ways, including a kid-friendly version and inside a pumpkin
- Basic directions and variation for performing demo in a pumpkin
- Kid-friendly version using hydrogen peroxide and yeast
Sidewalk Chalk
Make homemade chalk and use it to create messages on your school’s sidewalks to promote ChemClub.