5 science experiments to do at home

Chemistry and physics are everywhere around us, from the kitchen to the weather to our own bodies. But you don’t need to have done long studies or have a real laboratory to know and understand the basics. A few ingredients easily available in your cupboards are enough to unravel some of the mysteries of the universe that surrounds us thanks to homemade scientific experiments that will delight children (but also older ones!)

Indeed, with a simple dishwashing liquid or soap, vinegar, cooking oil, an egg, food or natural coloring, a balloon, a plastic bottle and a glass, it’s already a dozen experiences available to you. Did you know, for example, that it was possible to create a bottled tornado with some of these ingredients? What about natural plastic with vinegar and milk? Or even inflate a balloon without blowing into it?

So, advice to amateur scientists of all sizes, put on your gown, pick from this selection of experiments to do at home, follow the steps and the explanations and get ready to embark on an adventure as fascinating as it is fun!

Play with the colors of red cabbage!

Cabbage that is said to be red is actually dark purple. It is an excellent vegetable to taste in salads but also a great coloring which can teach us a lot about the pH thanks to a very easy experiment to make with ingredients easily available in the kitchen and the bathroom.

Ingredients and material:

• Red cabbage leaves
• Several glasses
• Some water
• Lemon
• Vinegar
• Soda
• Toothpaste
• Baking soda

The experience step by step:

• Boil water in a saucepan.
• Off the heat, put a few cabbage leaves in hot water.
• Leave to infuse and cool for ten minutes. The water was tinged dark purple, like cabbage!
• Pour the juice into different glasses.
• Pour a few drops of lemon, vinegar, soda, toothpaste and baking soda into each container.
• Watch the cabbage water color change depending on the ingredient added!

What can you learn from this in-house experience?
Starting from a relatively neutral base which is water (and therefore cabbage juice), one can observe the change in pH of the solution, caused by acidic ingredients, such as lemon, vinegar and soda, or very basic (baking soda and toothpaste).

Invent a nice cocktail in different layers

This little experiment consists of superimposing different colored liquids, without them mixing. It is not only pretty to create, it allows to see and understand the composition of these liquids, the properties of their compounds as well as their density.

Ingredients and material:

• Two glasses, one tall enough, another smaller
• Mint or grenadine syrup
• Food coloring
• Dishwashing liquid
• Some water
• Oil
• A spoon or a chopstick

The experience step by step:

• In the glass, first pour the syrup of your choice.
• Then pour the washing-up liquid by tilting the glass and making it color along the wall.
• In the small glass, first mix water and 2 drops of food coloring. Then pour the mixture delicately into the glass (tilting it slightly) where the syrup and washing-up liquid are already.
• Finally, pour in the oil.

What does this in-house experience allow us to observe?
In your glass, you will find 4 distinct layers, syrup, dishwashing liquid, colored water and oil. If they remain separate, it is both because of their property (hydrophobic oil which does not mix with water) but also because of their density. You can then shake up this whole little world with a chopstick or spoon and see how each layer mixes into the next! You can also do this experiment again by changing the order of the layers.

Make a milk stone as solid as plastic

Of course, we know salt dough, but it is not the only solid and fun material that is easy to create. This milk stone, also called galalith, only requires 2 ingredients and has even served as a real material in history thanks to its ease of production and great resistance.

Ingredients and material:

• A bowl of (cow’s) milk
• Vinegar
• A saucepan
• A funnel
• A coffee filter
• A container (bottle or large glass)
• A tea towel or absorbent paper

Optional :

• Food coloring
• Sandpaper
• Paint (acrylic)

The experience step by step:

• Heat the milk in a saucepan (or directly in its bowl, in the microwave). It should not boil. Possibility of adding a few drops of food coloring.
• Remove from the heat and add 3 tablespoons of vinegar.
• Wait a few minutes for the milk to coagulate and form a paste.
• Preferably above the sink, place the coffee filter in the funnel and the funnel in the chosen container.
• Pour the mixture.
• Collect the white part that remained in the filter once it has cooled a little.
• Wipe the dough with a cloth to remove a little more water.
• Shape the dough as you wish.
• Let it dry for 2 days so that the water finishes evaporating completely and the stone becomes solid.
• Sand the milk stone if necessary and paint it.

What does this in-house experience do?
Small decorative objects, pearls, buttons like in time and a whole lot of other things, with this paste which gives birth to a material as solid as stone it is an infinite number of creations which become a children’s game!

Inflate a balloon without blowing into it

Inflating balloons by blowing them is fun but it quickly makes you dizzy too. What if we told you that it was possible to do this activity effortlessly but with a little chemistry?

Ingredients and material:

• A balloon
• Vinegar
• Baking powder (1 sachet or a teaspoon)
• A funnel
• A bottle

The experience step by step:

• Fill the bottle with vinegar to about a third.
• Put the yeast in the flask using the funnel.
• Carefully hook the ring of the balloon to the neck of the bottle, being careful not to release any yeast inside (let the balloon hang on its side).
• Lift the balloon to drop the yeast into the bottle.
• The vinegar begins to bubble and the balloon eventually swells.

What can you learn from this in-house experience?
When the yeast comes into contact with the vinegar, a chemical reaction is created which will produce carbon dioxide (CO2). It is this gas which will inflate the balloon.

Create a tornado in a bottle

Tornadoes can quickly be the cause of natural disasters because they are uncontrollable. But this homemade experience will give you the super power to create a real vortex, in a bottle from which it will not be able to escape!

Ingredients and material:

• A bottle or jar with a tight fitting lid.
• Some water
• Dishwashing liquid or liquid soap

Optional :

• Food coloring (optional)

The experience step by step:

• Fill the bottle or jar with water, up to 2 thirds.
• Add a few drops of food coloring and glitter.
• Pour a few drops of liquid soap.
• Close the container tightly.
• Shake the jar vigorously, horizontally in a circular motion. A few movements are enough.
• Stop and observe the vortex that has formed and continues to spin on its own.

What can you learn from this in-house experience?
Thanks to these two simple ingredients, a powerful vortex is created because, by stirring the mixture, it is subjected to the famous centrifugal force. Projected on the walls of the bottle, stopped in its movement, it will increase the pressure at this place, while in the center, it will decrease, sucking the air in the jar (and with it, the small soap bubbles) . It is one of the simplest but also the most impressive experiences. And the best part is that we can activate this tornado endlessly!

Laure Gautherin

Laure is a journalist and video editor. His speciality ? Write about parenting which no longer holds any secrets for her and share with you insights and expert opinions. Laure …