Make an Easy Lava Lamp
Learn how to make an easy lava lamp with this fun science experiment for kids. Use simple household items such as vegetable oil, food coloring, Alka-Seltzer and a bottle to create chemical reactions and funky balls of color that move around like a real lava lamp.
What you'll need:
- A clear plastic bottle
- Vegetable oil
- Food coloring
- Alka-Seltzer (or other tablets that fizz)
- Pour water into the plastic bottle until it is around one quarter full (you might want to use a funnel when filling the bottle so you don't spill anything).
- Pour in vegetable oil until the bottle is nearly full.
- Wait until the oil and water have separated.
- Add around a dozen drops of food coloring to the bottle (choose any color you like).
- Watch as the food coloring falls through the oil and mixes with the water.
- Cut an Alka-Seltzer tablet into smaller pieces (around 5 or 6) and drop one of them into the bottle, things should start getting a little crazy, just like a real lava lamp!
- When the bubbling stops, add another piece of Alka-Seltzer and enjoy the show!