Pour bleach into a coke bottle to create this really cool effect (+ 5 experiments)

If you're tired of listening to the television or listening to the "I'm bored's" when the weather turns sour, now is a great time to pull out your bag of tricks and impress the kids with a few science experiments. These activities are fun enough that kids won't even realizing they're learning!
Check out each of these experiments which end with a bang, bubble, fizz, pop or gravity-defying event, and make those snow days just a little more fun!
Advertisement
1. Bleach and Cola
If you've ever considered kicking your soda habit, this video may push you over the edge. When you add bleach to the soda, the coloring evaporates or lightens significantly. Pop gets its color from food dyes. The bleach washes all of that away. The addition of bleach to soda also creates a disturbance, so the bubbles get released, creating a fizzy reaction.
2. Dry ice bubble
This fun experiment is cool to watch, and it's budget-friendly. Dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide. When the temperature starts to rise, the ice doesn't turn into a liquid; it turns into a gas. Adding water speeds up the process (because the water is much warmer than the ice). The gas then fills up the soapy layer creating a massive bubble that gently explodes, sending a smoky cloud billowing over the edge.
3. The unpoppable balloon
When you hold a balloon up to a flame, the heat is far too much for the thin balloon to handle, and it pops instantly. Adding a bit of water inside the balloon before holding it up to the candle, changes the result entirely. The water inside the balloon will absorb the heat from your flame and pull it away from the latex material. While it will burn, it won't pop.
4. Walk on water
Walking on water is a seemingly impossible task because your body weight disrupts the surface and you sink. But, if you mix cornstarch and water, you get a non-Newtonian fluid (a fluid that's a solid and a liquid at the same time). You can stick your hands in it and move them around, but if you add pressure (like punching it or standing on it, it reacts as a solid). (Note: Do not pour this mixture down the drain.)
5. Rainbow Skittles (h/t Kid Spot)
This is a fun experiment that's easy for little ones to help set up. When you add warm water to the skittle plate, the water breaks down the candy coating of the shell and draws the swirly colors into the center of the plate for a stunning visual.
6. Make your own lava lamp (h/t Science Fun)
The water and oil separate because the density of the oil is heavier than the water. When you add the food coloring and tablets, the chemical reaction changes the density of some of the oil, creating a lava-lamp esque result.
Advertisement