— Milpitas, CA
Looking for some fun and interactive activities to do while at home? Gather some ingredients, either by yourself or with your friends and family, and have a fun time doing the following simple experiments!
Fireworks in a jar
Food coloring doesn’t dissolve in oil, but it does in water. Since water is denser than oil, it sinks. In this experiment, you can utilize your knowledge about food coloring and oil to imitate fireworks!
What you need:
Bowl
Warm Water
Vegetable Oil
A Jar
Food Coloring (Multiple colors recommended)
Fork
Instructions:
Start with pouring 3-4 tablespoons of oil into a bowl. Next, pour drops of food coloring in several areas of the bowl. You can put multiple colors for more eye-catching results. Mix gently with a fork. Next, fill your jar with warm water around ¾ of the way. Pour in your oil and food coloring mixture. The oil will stay on top of the water while the food coloring sinks, creating a brilliant explosion of color.
Restore Pennies
Do you have multiple pennies that look dirty or rusty? With this fun activity, you will be able to clean them within minutes!
What you need:
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup of white vinegar or 1/4 cup of lemon juice
A spoon
Water
Dry towel or cloth
Cup or glass
Dirty Pennies
Instructions:
To start, grab a cup or glass. Add 1 teaspoon of salt to the cup or glass. Next, add ¼ cup of white vinegar or ¼ cup of lemon juice. Stir until the salt dissolves. Put your dirty pennies inside the cup or glass; they must not be placed on top of each other. Wait 10-15 minutes. Once you take out a penny, you may dry it with a towel or cloth. It should have its original copper color back!
Grow Colorful Flowers
We all know that plants absorb water. But what if you put food coloring inside the water? Does the plant absorb it or filter it out? Find out with this experiment!
What you need:
Water
Scissors
Food coloring (more than one color is optional)
Clear plastic cups (16 oz)
White Carnations
Instructions:
Start off by taking some 16 oz cups and pouring water halfway into each cup. Next, put 3 drops of food coloring into each cup. You may use different colors for every cup. Grab the carnations and cut the end of the stem of each flower. Put one flower in each cup, stem first. Wait 24 hours. The flower may not be entirely full of color, but you can see hints of it after 24 hours.