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

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”

Oobleck!

Mix up a batch of gooey oobleck!

• Directions for making “oobleck”
• Kiddie pool of “oobleck”
• Video of cornstarch water-walk on The Ellen Show
• Lesson plan for making “oobleck”, 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 for Elephant's Toothpaste
• Oozing Jack O’ Lantern
• 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.

• Open-ended investigation for making chalk with elementary school students
• Making chalk with discussion of exothermic reactions
• Recipe for sidewalk chalk