Halloween season is upon us! Not only do we love seeing our students in their cute costumes, but there are tons of spooky, creepy, and even magical Halloween STEAM activities available to entertain and educate our kids! This is the perfect time of year for a little bit of gross-out science in the form of… A Puking Pumpkin!
This is a perfect experiment to do with your child, or wait until the trick-or-treaters arrive and wow them with some crude chemistry!
All you’ll need to put a Halloween twist on this classic chemical reaction are:
- A pumpkin
- Baking soda
- Vinegar
- Food coloring
- An empty water bottle or other container
First, have tons of fun carving your pumpkin together! Make sure to fully empty the inside of your pumpkin. When you’re carving pumpkins, you can use lots of different designs, but make sure you carve a face into the pumpkin you want to use for this experiment.
Once your pumpkin is carved, take it outside to an area that you don’t mind getting messy, and which can be easily cleaned. If you’re trying this inside, put your pumpkin in a container with high sides to try and contain the mess.
Place around ½ a cup of baking soda in the bottom of your pumpkin, making sure that it doesn’t fall out of your pumpkin’s mouth. In your water bottle, add approximately 2 cups of vinegar and several drops of food coloring (perhaps your child can help you choose the best color).
Remove the lid of your jack-o-lantern and pour the vinegar carefully over the baking soda. The baking soda and vinegar will combine, causing a foamy chemical reaction that will spill over out of your pumpkin’s mouth!
This gruesome experiment will be met with squeals of delight, and you can repeat the reaction over and over again throughout the “spooky season!”
Click here to find the full experiment and more of the science behind it from Steam Powered Family!
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!