Lava Lamp Science Experiment 🌋 ages 3+ 🌋 One of my most asked questions is if there is a way to do the lava lamp experiment without Alka-Seltzer or effervescent tablets and the answer is YES!! You can us baking soda and vinegar and it works just as well! Here’s how to do it:
DIY LAVA LAMP VIDEO TUTORIAL:
Check out the below video tutorial to see how we made our lava lamps without alka-seltzer!
MATERIALS NEEDED TO MAKE A LAVA LAMP
(affiliate links)
- Glass
- Baking soda
- Vegetable oil
- Small cups
- White vinegar
- Food coloring
- Dropper
HOW TO MAKE A LAVA LAMP WITHOUT ALKA SELTZER
- Start by adding 1 tbsp of baking soda to the glass.
- Then fill the glass about 1/2 full with vegetable oil.
- Next pour some vinegar into small cups and add food coloring to dye the vinegar your favorite color.
- Finally, use a dropper to add the colored vinegar to the oil. Add several droppers full of vinegar.
- Watch the colorful bubbles rise and fall through the mixture.
WHY DOES IT HAPPEN
The vinegar is slightly heavier than the oil so it sinks to the bottom of the glass when added to the oil. Once the vinegar hits the bottom of the glass, it reacts with the baking soda and produced carbon dioxide gas. These gas bubbles attach to the vinegar and pull it to the top. Once at the top of the mixture the bubbles pop and the vinegar falls to the bottom again to repeat the process! So cool!
More Science Experiments
Looking for more science experiemnt? Check out some of our favorites below or get my book, Super Simple Science Experiments for Curious Kids!
