Turn Your Kitchen Into Your Very Own Science Lab

Science can so be much fun when you get to see theories coming to life through simple home experiments. This was so evident when we received such a great response from our students after they tried the 5 Super Cool Science Experiments we recommended last month. There is no better way to combine fun with learning.

To conduct science experiments, we don’t always need expensive, hard to find chemicals or a big laboratory. All we need is an inquisitive mind, a few kitchen products and stationery items to learn something new. Turn your very own kitchen into your very own science lab with these 5 experiments that you can do on your own with everyday food items.

1. The Floating Egg Experiment

What happens when we put an egg into a glass full of water? It obviously sinks. But what happens when we add something as simple as salt to this glass of water? Let’s find out.

WHAT YOU NEED: Two Raw Eggs, Two Glasses, Water, Salt and a Spoon.

HOW:
1. Pour water in the first glass filling it almost to the top.
2. Gently drop an egg into this glass. It will sink right to the bottom.
3. Fill the second glass half full with water.
4. Add 4-5 spoons full of salt to the water and stir till it dissolves.
5. Fill the rest of the glass with water, almost to the top.
6. Drop the second egg gently to this salt-water solution…does it sink? No! It floats 🙂

WHY: The first egg sinks easily in plain water because a raw egg has a greater density than the water. Basically, the egg has more matter stuffed into a specific area (volume) than the same amount of water. When you add salt to the water, you increase the density. That is to say, the salt packs into the same volume of water. With enough salt added to the water, the density of the water is greater than that of the egg, allowing the egg to float. Cool, right?

2. Bubbling Lava Lamp

Lava lamps are so mesmerizing that you can watch them over and over again. They have colorful bubbles rising and sinking. What if we tell you that you can make your own temporary lava lamp with a few things that you can find in your kitchen? Let’s get started!

WHAT YOU NEED: A Plastic Bottle, Cooking Oil, Water, Food Colouring and Disprin tablets.

HOW:
1. Fill the plastic bottle with water up to one quarter.
2. Add few drops of food colouring in the bottle.
3. Pour the cooking oil until the bottle is nearly full.
4. Wait till the oil and water have separated into two layers.
5. Divide the Disprin tablet into two.
6. Drop one part of the tablet into the bottle and see the magic happening. Bubbles!
7. Keep adding more to make more bubbles!

WHY: We saw that oil and water doesn’t mix. The oil and water you added to the bottle separate from each other, with oil on top because it has a lower density than water. The Disprin tablet reacts with the water to make tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide gas. These bubbles attach themselves to the blobs of colored water and cause them to float to the surface.

3. Colour Changing Milk

How often do we mix milk, some food colouring and dish-washing liquid? Let’s find out what happens when we mix this weird combination together.

WHAT YOU NEED: Milk, Plate, Liquid Food Colouring (2-4 different colours), Liquid dishwashing soap and a Cotton swab.

HOW:
1. Pour some milk in the plate to completely cover the bottom and let the milk settle.
2. Add a drop of each of the food colouring to the milk. Keep the drops close together at the center of the plate.
3. Now dip one end of the cotton swab in the liquid dishwashing soap. Place this soapy end of the cotton swab in the milk and hold it. What do you see? A Riot of colours!
4. Add another drop of soap to the tip of the cotton swab and try it again. Experiment with placing the cotton swab at different places in the plate of milk. What makes the food colouring in the milk move?

WHY: Milk contains many things but much of it is made up of water, proteins, and fats. When the liquid soap is added to the milk, the fat and protein chemical bonds are broken and everything goes loose. The fat and protein molecules explode in all directions. The molecules in the food colouring startsmoving in all directions which makes it easy to see what’s happening. Changes in the surface tension also contribute to the water molecules in the milk zinging around. When the liquid soap is added, it reeks havoc on the surface tension destroying the bonds that hold everything together. And the colors fly!

Click to view detailed video

4. No Gravity Water

What goes up must come down, right? What if we can bend this rule with a cup of water that stays inside the glass when held upside down. Let’s try this.

WHAT YOU NEED: A Glass filled with Water right to the top and a piece of cardboard.

HOW:
1. Put the cardboard over the mouth of the glass. Make sure there are no air bubbles in the glass as you hold onto the cardboard.
2. Turn the glass upside down. (Try this over a wash basin until you get good at this)
3. Take away your hand holding the cardboard. Pretty cool right?

WHY: If everything goes according to the plan, then the cardboard and water should stay put. Even though the glass of water is upside down the water stays in place, defying gravity! So why is this happening? With no air inside the glass, the air pressure from outside the glass is greater than the pressure of the water inside the glass. The extra air pressure manages to hold the cardboard in place, keeping you dry and your water where it should be, inside the glass.

5. Travelling Water Experiment

We know that water flows, but do you know that it can walk too? Come let’s see how this is possible with a simple experiment.

WHAT YOU NEED: 3 Glass Tumblers/Jars/Glasses of same size, Water, Paper Towels and Food Colouring (red, yellow, blue).

HOW:
1. Fill two jars with water and put two different food colourings in both of them. Let’s choose Red and Yellow.
2. Place the empty jar in between the Red and the Yellow coloured water jars.
3. Cut the paper towels in two halves and fold them.
4. Put one end each of the paper towel in the Red and Yellow coloured
water jars and the other ends in the empty jar.
5. Sit back and let the water walk from one jar to another. AMAZING!

WHY: The process by which water travels up the paper towel is called Capillary Action. The coloured water moves or “walks” up in to the empty jar through the tiny gaps in the paper towel. Water molecules bind to the paper towel through a process called Adhesion but stay close as they are cohesive. The gaps in the paper towel act like capillary tubes, pulling the water upwards.

BONUS: When you try this experiment with Primary Colours, it turns into a cool colour mixing lesson. Go ahead and try other combinations to make new colours. 🙂

We hope you try some of these at home. Please share your experiences with us here. We strive to combine fun with learning for our students and really look forward to hearing from our you.