Best At-home Chemistry Projects to Try with Your Kids

Are you bored of staying at home in this quarantine? Don’ worry, chemistry is here to save you from the monotony in the lock-down.

Chemistry projects feel a lot more like magic that will amaze your kids, and at the same time get them involved in this subject.

ADVERTISEMENT

Here are a couple of chemistry projects that you can try at home with your kids. These projects are a great way to get yourself refreshed, and teach your kids some important chemistry lessons in a more fun and practical way.

You can perform these experiments with simple things that are easily available at your home. So, without further delay, let us begin the fun!

Mentos and diet soda volcano

Chemical volcanoes are always a classic project for any science fairs or chemistry demonstrations. This project is one of the simplest experiments that you can perform at home with ease.

ADVERTISEMENT

Additionally, the materials you need are also easily available almost in everyone’s houses.

What do you require?

  • Roll of Mentos candies
  • 2 liters bottle of diet soda

Procedure

The Mentos and diet soda volcano is a non-toxic experiment, which you can perform with your kids. The foam it produces is capable of producing jets of soda that can go up to several feet high.

Use the Mentos candies that can barely fit into the 2-liters bottle of diet soda. You can substitute the diet soda with any kind of carbonated beverage. Drop the Mentos pieces in the bottle of diet soda, and watch the eruption happen.

ADVERTISEMENT

What happens?

The volcanic eruption in this process is basically the fizz of the carbon dioxide squeezed into liquid and looking for a way to come out.

When you put the candies into the soda, they quickly interact with the carbon dioxide of the soda and form bubbles.

Because there is extreme pressure inside the bottle, the small, narrow opening of the bottle funnels the foam to get out, making it look like a volcanic eruption. This experiment can be a little messy, so we suggest you perform it outdoors, like in a backyard or maybe a garden.

Pro tip: If you want the jet of foam to go even higher, you can use a nozzle that makes the opening of the bottle even smaller.

Burning money

The burning money experiment can be performed more as a “magic-trick” rather than just a chemistry project. It displays the process of combustion, the flammability of alcohol.

In this experiment, a combustion reaction occurs between oxygen and alcohol that results in the production of heat and light, water, and carbon dioxide.

Since the experiment uses fire, do not let your kids perform this experiment on their own.

What do you need?

  • A dollar bill
  • Tongs
  • Matchstick
  • A solution of alcohol and water in the ratio of 1:1

Procedure

First, prepare the alcohol and water solution using 50 ml water and the same volume of alcohol. Next, carefully soak the precious dollar bill into the solution so that the bill is completely wet.

Get the bill out of the solution using a tong and drain the excess liquid. Finally, light the bill using the matchstick and allow it to completely burn until the flame goes out.  

  

What happens?

It might surprise you that when the dollar bill is on fire, the alcohol is what actually burns and not the bill.

This is because the temperature at which the alcohol is burnt is not high enough to evaporate the water (alcohol boils at 78.37°C and water at 100°C). Therefore, the bill remains wet and does not catch fire at all.

After the alcohol is completely burnt, the flame goes out and what remains is an undamaged but slightly damped dollar bill.

If you are brave enough you can also dip your finger in the alcohol-water solution and try to do the same with your finger. However, do not let your kids try the same.

Pro tip: Add a pinch of salt or food color to produce a colored flame.