Kids of all ages will be thrilled by this exciting Fizzy Earth Day Science Experiment! It’s a fun and educational Earth Day activity that combines environmental awareness, creativity and scientific exploration!
Your little scientists will transform ordinary baking soda and vinegar into an amazing bubbling artistic representation of planet Earth.
Kids will love exploring the amazing world of fizzy chemistry and will be wowed by the magical bubbly reaction of baking soda and vinegar! It’s a fantastic Earth Day experiment to keep young curious minds excited and engaged.
This is a fantastic Earth Day experiment to really engage the senses too. Kids will love seeing, hearing, smelling and touching the fizzy science in play right before their eyes! It’s even safe for them to have a tiny taste too if they wanted too. (But it won’t taste nice!)
What Happens in a Vinegar and Baking Soda Reaction?
When you mix baking soda and vinegar the acetic acid in the vinegar reacts with the baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and releases carbon dioxide gas. It is this carbon dioxide gas that kids will see and hear bubbling and fizzing.
There is a lovely You Tube Video from Socratica Kids which explains the process in a fun and simple way. You can also find a more complicated and detailed explanation at Stem Mayhem which is great for bigger kids.
What better way to celebrate Earth Day than with a fun and exciting science experiment for kids?
While talking about caring for the planet this Earth Day, kids can create their own artistic representation of planet Earth and discover a little science at the same time with this fun baking soda and vinegar experiment.
Baking Soda and Vinegar Earth Day Science Experiment
Craft Supplies:
- Baking Soda
- White Vinegar
- Green and Blue Food Colouring
- Pipettes
- Round Baking Tray
- Small Mixing Bowls
- Stirring Spoons or Sticks
Earth Day Fizzing Science Activity
1 – Pour a few tablespoons of vinegar into two small mixing bowls. Add a few drops of green food colouring to one and blue to the other. Stir to mix.
2 – Put a layer of baking soda into the bottom of the round tray and spread it out evenly.
3 – Show the children how to use the pipette. Squeeze to push the air out then dip it into the green vinegar mix and release. The vinegar is then sucked into the pipette.
4 – Use the pipette to squeeze a drop of vinegar onto the baking soda. It”s great fun to see the reaction and watch and hear the fizzing and bubbling as the vinegar and baking soda combine! The acetic acid in the vinegar is reacting with the baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and is creating carbon dioxide gas which is bubbling upwards and fizzing.
5 – Keep adding more drops of green vinegar around the round dish to make the earth/land.
6 – When you have the land where you want it you can start to fill the gaps with blue sea. Use the pipette to add drops of blue vinegar to the baking soda.
7 – It’s great fun to see the white get covered up and the experiment start to look more and more like the planet Earth.
8 – Keep dropping in blue and green vinegar until the whole of the round tray is coloured.
9 – When you’ve finished you will have created your own representation of the planet Earth!
This baking soda and vinegar experiment is great fun for kids and a fun way to learn and to think about protecting the planet for Earth Day.
More Fun Earth Day Activities For Kids:
Fizzy Earth Day Science Experiment
Enjoy this easy Earth Day Science Experiment!
Materials
- Baking Soda
- White Vinegar
- Green and Blue Food Colouring
- Pipettes
- Round Baking Tray
- Mixing bowls
- Stirring Spoons or Sticks
Instructions
- Pour a few tablespoons of vinegar into two small mixing bowls. Add a few drops of green food colouring to one and blue to the other. Stir to mix.
- Put a layer of baking soda into the bottom of the round tray and spread it out evenly.
- Use the pipette to squeeze a drop of green vinegar onto the baking soda.
- Repeat with the blue vinegar.
- Keep adding drops of blue and green until the tray is covered.