Baking soda fun

We've been indoors today. The snow was great to play in but there's only so many wet gloves and soggy socks you can take in one day. So, we got out some science cards that our big girl had for Christmas. There were so many good ideas in there that we struggled to decide which one to choose. As it was so wintery outside we finally decided that it might be a good idea to make some crystals, as they looked the most like snow and that seemed to be the order of the day.

This experiment was two glasses filled with hot water. We dissolved about 6 teaspoons of bicarb into this water until no more would dissolve. A short length of wool with paperclips at each end was placed with each end in the glass, hanging over a small plate. Left somewhere warm were it wouldn't be disturbed it grew lots even over the first couple of days. As the water evaporated the crystals of bircarb were left. Some got really large and joined up with the crystals left on the plate. They enjoyed coming down to the kitchen each day and seeing if theyd grown overnight. Very clever experiment done with minimal kitchen ingredients and a small area of kitchen worktop. Well worth it.

 

Above: The start of the experiment.

Below: The crystals after a week. 

Once they had discovered the bircarbonate of soda in the cupboard there was more excitment. There are so many science experiments for children that contain bicarb. I remembered one I'd seen on pinterest so we gave that a go too. Little man really enjoyed squirting his pipette full of coloured vinegar onto the tray of bicarb. He got really excited as it started fizzing and bubbling. They made loads of patterns and mixed the colours up until it was a fizzy mess. Brilliant.