This week for STEAM Saturday, we have tracked down one of the grooviest STEAM projects out there… With help from the good folks at Science Buddies, we’re going to show you how you and your child can make your own Lava Lamp at home!
We might be dating ourselves here, and some of you may be asking, “What’s a lava lamp?” Lava lamps originated in the 1960s. They were full of liquid, and a little while after being turned on, blobs of colored liquid would begin floating towards the top of the lamp, then drifting back down, creating a moving, mesmerizing piece of artwork!
Today, we’re going to make non-electric lava lamps and test whether changing the temperature of the ingredients changes the lava lamp effect. Here’s what you’ll need to get started:
Two tall identical jars or bottles (empty water bottles would work perfectly)- A cutting board and knife
- A timer or clock that shows seconds
- Water
- Food coloring
- Vegetable oil
- Alka-Seltzer tablets
In each of your two bottles, add 1-2 inches of water, 5 drops of food coloring, and enough vegetable oil so that the bottles are at least ¾ full. Close the lid to avoid spills.
Now, you’ll need to make one jar hot and one cold. One simple way to do this is to place one in the fridge or freezer and one in a container of hot water. Make sure to take precautions when working with hot water so you don’t burn yourself!
Cut an Alka-Seltzer tablet into quarters. Once you have one hot bottle and one cold bottle, it’s time to perform your experiment!
Get your timer ready and drop one quarter of an Alka-Seltzer tablet into the hot water bottle. Start your timer as soon as the tablet reaches the water. How long does it take the tablet to dissolve? How intense are the color bubbles it creates? Write down your observations.
Now repeat the experiment with your cold jar. Did you notice any difference in how long it took for the tablet to dissolve, or in the intensity of the bubbles?
What is happening in your lava lamps? When the Alka-Seltzer tablets combine with the water, they create a gas called carbon dioxide. The gas is lighter than the water and oil, so it starts bubbling up, taking a bit of colored water with it as it floats through the oil. At the top of the oil, the gas bubbles burst, sending the colored water sinking back down through the oil.
You can keep your lava lamps and add Alka-Seltzer anytime you want to recreate this awesome, bubbly effect. If you choose to dispose of your lava lamps, please note that you should not pour the contents down the drain. The vegetable oil can cause clogs. Instead, either close the lid tightly and dispose of the bottles in your regular trash, or take them outside away from plants and pour them into a hole.
Find the full experiment and more of the science behind it from Science Buddies HERE.
As always, get as creative as you want, and above all, have lots of fun learning together!
We’ll see you right back here next Saturday for another STEAM Saturday activity! Scroll through the rest of our website to learn how Critchlow Adkins is Building Brighter Futures for the children and families we serve!
