Spooky Science: Glow-in-the-Dark Explosion!
We all love watching chemical reactions; it’s just cool! This is just your basic baking soda & vinegar explosion, but it GLOWS in the DARK!!! I mean, this is COOL! When I saw this science experiment over at www.playathomemomllc.com, I knew we had to do it. Anything where you get to turn the lights off and watch things react, is perfect for adding to that Halloween spook. It is pretty straight forward and easy. Here is what you need:
Ingredients:
Baking soda
Vinegar
Yellow highlighters (I used 3)
Water
Black light
A jar to soak the highlighters in
A jar for the solution
A jar for the baking soda
A bin for everything to be done into
Instructions:
Use pliers to take apart the highlighters and remove the color part
Soak this into water for 10 min. just enough water to submerge the color into. I also cut the highlighter color tubes to break them apart so they fit in my jar easier.
Pour baking soda into a jar & place in the center of the basin
Pour vinegar into a separate jar
Set the bin and the black light up in a dark room
Once the highlighter color tubes have soaked for 10 min. pour the highlighter fluid into the vinegar jar
Then let your little one pour the vinegar/highlighter fluid mix into the baking soda jar and watch the chemical reaction in awe!
What’s the Science Behind it?
I love the simple explanation scienceline.ucsb.edu gives of what is happening when these two things mix. “Baking soda and vinegar react with one another because they both have a lot of energy that they don't want and they can help each other get rid of it!” When they work together, they make carbon dioxide. You can explain how they make this every time they breathe out.
Extensions:
You can try different color highlighters (pink, orange, green etc.) and see the difference in color. Was it as bright? Did it glow in the dark?
Have fun! We sure did!
Looking for other fun Halloween & Fall activities? Check out Pumpkin Physics, Ghost Bubble Science, Hammering Pumpkins, Monster Slime, & Ghost Screams.