Jackson and his preschool BFF hang out at least once a week. We typically meet at parks, but we occasionally alternate houses. When we were at his friend's house last week, I caught the boys in the upstairs bathroom mixing toothpaste, soap, and chopped fruit snacks in a flask. It was time to go so I promised the boys we would do so experiments at our house the next week.
I purchased my $4 worth of supplies for our afternoon of experiments.
Our first experiment was having a bottle blow up a balloon. This was just a simple vinegar and baking soda reaction, but it looks much cooler with a balloon. Using a funnel, his friend poured a scoop of baking soda into a balloon.
Then Jackson poured 1/2 a cup of vinegar into a bottle. (We happened to have a small bottle of vinegar in the recycling, but you could also use a soda bottle.)
Next, I placed the balloon tightly over the lip of the bottle. You have to pick the balloon up to let the baking soda fall out. The balloon will automatically begin to inflate.
The boys were excited, but they wanted a bigger reaction. They kept saying, "Oh, it's going to explode!" We repeated the experiment using 2 scoops of baking soda and a full cup of vinegar. The second time the reaction was so forceful that the bottle fell over and moved across the counter. They were quite excited!
Our second experiment was making oobleck (2 parts corn starch to 1 part water). James was having a total meltdown and I couldn't find my other box of corn starch, so this was less than perfect. I ended up using flour to thicken the slime once I ran out of corn starch. And James cried in his crib until he fell asleep because he was inconsolably exhausted. The big boys and girls had fun mixing.
We still made time for dressing up in costumes, building with magnetic tiles, and playing with kittens. It was an exciting afternoon!
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