Great science project for kids while summer camps are on hold
By ALDONA BIRD
If you experience lava lamp nostalgia, or are searching for ways to share science with your children, this DIY is for you.
Those who grew up in the ’60s or the ’90s (when the popularity resurged) might have a special place in our hearts for these seemingly magical lamps.
Normally, families would be delving into summer activities, kids off from school and parents taking vacation time, and it wouldn’t be the time when most families conduct science experiments.
With cases state and nation wide on the rise, vacations and socializing are looking different. Instead of floating and sinking in public pools and lakes, let’s stay home and watch colored bubbles rise and sink in bottles.
The lava lamp was invented by British entrepreneur Edward Craven Walker in 1963. A glass vessel is filled with a water based clear liquid and globules of colored wax mixed with carbon tetracholoride and other substances which combined are denser than the water solution.
A lamp at the base of the glass vessel heats the wax mix, which expands and its density decreases, causing colorful wax bubbles to rise to the top. Once at the top, the blobs cool and sink back to the bottom.
Recreating a commercial lamp at home would be difficult, but fun, temporary (but reusable) and educational versions are simple to make with ingredients you probably already have.
DIY LAVA LAMP
Oil (cooking is best, baby oil can also work)
Food coloring
Water
Alka-seltzer tablets
Jar, bottle or other tall and clear container
Pour oil into the container, leaving an inch or two of space at the top. Add water (but don’t fill all the way, leave some room), and watch it sink to the bottom.
Add one color of food coloring, or a combo to mix — this can be an art and science project.
Once the coloring has fallen to the bottom, add a quarter tablet of Alka-seltzer, and watch the lamp come to life.
This process works because the oil is less dense than the water, and so floats on top. As the tablet dissolves, it releases carbon dioxide, which is less dense than the water. The CO2 bubbles stick to some of the water and coloring, bringing them up through the oil.
When the bubbles reach the top, they burst. The release of gas allows the water to drop back down to the bottom.
The polarity of water molecules (they have unbalanced electrical charges) makes them stay separate from the non-polar oil molecules.
The bubbling effect of Alka-Seltzer tablets occurs when the ingredients sodium bicarbonate and citric acid react together upon dissolving in water. If you don’t have tablets on hand, you can mix the raw ingredients for the same fun colorful bubbling result.
DIY LAVA LAMP WITHOUT ALKA-SELTZER
Two parts baking soda
One part citric acid
Oil
Water
Food coloring
Jar or bottle
Mix the baking soda and citric acid. Add oil to your vessel (water should fill 1/4 or less of the container), and food coloring. Add one teaspoon of the powder mix, and let the pretty bubbles mesmerize you!
Don’t have any citric acid? You have one more option for making a lava lamp.
LAVA LAMP WITHOUT ALKA-SELTZER OR CITRIC ACID
Baking soda
Vinegar
Oil
Water
Food coloring
Clear bottle or jar
Fill the jar one quarter or less with water. Fill with oil until three quarters full. Add coloring, and let it sink to the bottom with the oil. Add a tablespoon of vinegar (lemon juice would work too), and enjoy.
If using the first two recipes, the mix can be saved and reused — just make sure all the gas is out before securing a lid on the container. The last recipe can be used a few times, but will stop reacting after a few uses.
DIY lava lamps are a great way to open the door to lessons on density, polarity, bases and acidity and more. Teach kids, or learn yourself, and have safe fun along the way.
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