DIY Lava Lamp
This fun and easy project is a great visual aid for teaching force & motion and cause & effect.
Servings: 1 lava lamp
Equipment
- Bottle or jar
Ingredients
- water
- vegetable oil any type
- liquid food coloring any color
- Alka-Seltzer anti-acid tablets
Instructions
- Drink or pour out most of the water, leaving approximately ¼ in each bottle. Remove the label.
- Fill the bottle almost up to the top with vegetable oil, leaving about an inch of space at the top.
- Add the food coloring, drop by drop, until the water reaches the desired hue.
- Break the Alka-Seltzer tablets into small pieces, about half an inch in size. The pieces don't need to be even.
- Drop the Alka-Seltzer pieces into the bottle. It'll drop to the bottom and immediately begin fizzing, sending the colored water up through the oil in a cool stream of bubbles. Add more as the bubbles slow down, or as desired.
Notes
- DO NOT put the lid on the water bottle while the Alka-Seltzer is bubbling; it could build up pressure, which could make the bottle explode.
- Food coloring will stain, even more so when mixed with oil. Make sure kids are supervised whenever the bottles are open. This is a great project to do outside.
- Any size water bottle works, just make sure their labels can easily be removed.
