Science Experiment: "Sparkly Explosion!"

I love child-led learning because it helps cultivate a love for education and skills to learn independently in the future.  It is also a form of assessment because you can see exactly how your child is processing information you have already taught.  This little gem is completely my daughter's creation, but we all loved it.  I hope you have as much fun with it as we did!  And don't worry--I have several more fiery experiments and demonstrations to put up soon!

Simple Supplies for a "Sparkly Explosion:"

• vase
• baking soda
• vinegar
• food coloring (we used neon red)
• blue glitter (this is very important, though you can use any color)
• other supplies--see step 4. 
• pan to contain the mess

The Easy How-To:

1. Place 2-3 Tablespoons baking soda in the bottom of the vase.  Put the vase in the pan.
2. Add 6-7 drops of food coloring and 1-2 teaspoons of glitter.
3. Quickly pour in about 1/2 cup vinegar.  Watch for the sparkles!
4. When the action is over, repeat the experiment, but this time let your child choose other supplies to add.  What does pepper look like in the "explosion?"  Does salt change anything?  What about spaghetti noodles?  Remember this is not a demonstration, it is an experiment!  Let your child change the variables, predict what will happen, and enjoy the results!   

Explanation:

At some point during an experiment like this, I review with my children that baking soda and vinegar react to make the explosion.  Older children can understand that baking soda is a base and vinegar is an acid and mixing acids and bases makes a reaction.  They can also base their experiments in Step 4 on this knowledge.  My children are old enough to know that some things react when you mix them together.