Elephant Toothpaste {Science Experiment}

We absolutely love any kind of craft that involves coagulating, exploding, bubbling and goo. We do. I’m just as bad as my kids, I think. I get all excited and do the “whoo hoo, what’s it going to do now” stuff. My poor neighbors. They have to listen to that all summer.

This was a great one to do. And the oohhhs and aahhhs were so fun!

My son was at his friend’s house so my daughter wanted to do something “special” since we had mommy daughter time.  We looked through my giant “things I want to make” list and this is what she picked out – Elephant Toothpaste.  This idea came from Preschool Powel Packets.

You will need:
* soda bottle (empty)
* tray or cookie sheet
* 2 Tbsp. warm water
* 1 tsp. yeast
* 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide (it should be a 6% solution and not the 3% solution from the grocery store.  I’ll show you why in a minute.  But it can work with the3% if you can’t find the other.)
* 4-5 drops of food coloring
* liquid dish soap

Add the hydrogen peroxide to the empty bottle.  Squirt in a little of the dish soap and swirl around to mix.  Add 4-5 drops of food coloring.

In a small dish, mix the warm water and yeast.  Stir until well dissolved.

Pour the yeast mixture into the bottle and watch it grow!

My daughter LOVED this!!!

Here’s what it was like with store bought hydrogen peroxide (3%).  (Still super cool.)

We thought it was so cool we ran to the beauty supply store when my son came home and bought 6% to see if there truly was a difference.

Here’s the science part of it:
Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) naturally breaks down into water and oxygen.  It is stored in opaque containers to help slow down this process.  Catalase (an enzyme in all living things, including yeast) speeds up the reaction.  Dish soap catches the oxygen and makes bigger bubbles and the food coloring makes it look cool.  The foam and bottle feel warm because the reaction is exothermic–it releases energy as heat.

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