groovy science

I love this time of year! Family, friends, food, and time off all help to make this one of my favorite times of year. However, the long winter break can start to wear me and the kids thin as we near the end so it is always helpful to have a few easy activities. I have done this one many times and have always been amazed how easy, fun, and engaging it is for everyone!

Here is a small list of items to collect for this experiment:

• salt
• water
• olive oil
• alka seltzer
• food coloring
• cups, glass jars, something to hold ingredients
• flashlights (optional)
• Mineral oil and baby oil can be fun additions after the initial experiment with the olive oil.

To begin put a drop of food coloring in water and observe what happens. After the first drop, it is fun to drop another drop of another color in to see what color you can create. I like to do it first with cold water and then very hot water to see the difference.

Next saturate a water solution with salt and squeeze one drop of food coloring in. It is important not to start with too much food coloring because it will cause it to get to dark and you will not longer be able to see. It is fun to add the food coloring after stirring the solution, you get a really neat swirl pattern!

Finally, fill a glass about half full with water. Next, pour some olive oil in, so the glass is about 2/3 full. Put a few drops of food coloring in, you can mix colors if you would like, but remember not to do too much because it will get to dark. Observe the food coloring and then the real fun, either drop in the alka seltzer table or pour salt directly over the food coloring.

When you are done, you will have a salt lava lamp! For added fun, find a dark room and repeat all the steps under a flashlight!

Happy mixing and for other fun ideas, be sure to visit www.thegaragecreative.com!

The Garage Creative