Kitchen Wizard Chemistry Experiments You Can Share with Your Kids

This article teaches kids about chemistry and is angloves (latex or similar) and eye protection (safety
excellent introduction to the totally fun activities ingoggles), and if you're not sure about an experiment or
homeschool chemistry (including exothermic reactions,chemical, just don't do it. (Skip the peroxide and cold
phase shifts, and acid indicators). It's also good for boypack if you have small kids.)
scouts working on a badge, or for any kids that loveWhat about the red cabbage? Red cabbage juice has
science experiments. These experiments are part of aanthocyanin, which makes it an excellent indicator for
homeschool science program that I teach, and Ithese experiments. Anthocyanin is what gives leaves,
promise your kids will love it.stems, fruits, and flowers their colors. Did you know
Chemistry is an exciting subject for kids of any age,that certain flowers like hydrangeas turn blue in acidic
especially if you set up a natural discoverysoil and turn pink when transplanted to a basic soil?
environment for them to safely explore in. Let's find outThis next step of the experiment will help you
how to do this with your own homeschool scienceunderstand why. You'll need to get the anthocyanin out
learning environment. At a university, one of the firstof the cabbage and into a more useful form, as a liquid
things you will learn about in your chemistry class is the"indicator".
difference between physical and chemical changes.Prepare the indicator by coarsely chopping the head
An example of a physical change happens when youof red cabbage and boiling the pieces for five minutes
change the shape of an object, like wadding up aon the stove in a pot full of water. Carefully strain out
piece of paper. If you light the paper wad on fire, youall the pieces (use a fine mesh strainer) and the
now have a chemical change. You are rearranging thereserved liquid is your indicator (it should be purple).
atoms that used to be the molecules that made up theWhen you add this indicator to different substances,
paper into other molecules, such as carbon monoxide,you will see a color range: hot pink, tangerine orange,
carbon dioxide, ash, and so forth. How can you tell thesunshine yellow, emerald green, ocean blue, velvet
difference between physical and chemical changes?purple, and everything in between. Test out the
There's an easy way to tell if you have a chemicalindicator by adding drops of cabbage juice to
change: if something changes color, gives off light (likesomething acidic, such as lemon juice and see how
the light sticks used around Halloween), heat isdifferent the color is when you add indicator to a base,
absorbed (gets cold) or produces heat (gets warm).like baking soda mixed with water.
Some quick examples of physical changes includeHave your indicator in a bottle by itself. Old soy sauce
tearing cloth, rolling dough, stretching rubber bands,bottles or other bottles with a built-in regulator that
eating a banana, or blowing bubbles. Shopping List: ?keeps the pouring to a drip is perfect. You can also
Rubbing alcohol (largest bottle) ? Hydrogen peroxideuse a bowl with a bulb syringe, but cross-contamination
(largest bottle) ? Baking soda (largest box you canis a problem. Or not - depending if you want kids to
find) ? Distilled white vinegar (largest size) ? Washingsee the effects of cross-contamination during their
soda (near the laundry soap) ? Citric acid (optional, butexperiments. (The indicator bowl will continually turn
nice to have) ? One head of red cabbage ? Cleardifferent colors throughout the experiment.)
ivory dish soap (small bottle) ? Alum (check the spiceYour mission: To find the reactions that generate the
section) ? Single-use cold pack (not the gel kind) ?most heat (exothermic), absorb the most heat
Plastic zipper bags and old water bottles ? Muffin cup(endothermic), and which are the most impressive in
baking tray (12 cups or more)their reaction (the ohhhh-ahhhhh factor).
Let's mix up chemicals that bubble, ooze, freeze, andThe Experiment: Start mixing it up! When I personally
change colors. Before we start, you'll need to getteach this class, let them have at all the chemicals at
these items together: a muffin cup baking tray, water,once (even the indicator), and of course, this leads to a
vinegar (acetic acid), baking soda (sodium bicarbonate),chaotic mix of everything. When the chaos settles
washing soda (sodium carbonate), rubbing alcohol,down, and they start asking good questions, I reveal a
hydrogen peroxide, citric acid, ammonium chloride (don'tsecond batch of chemicals they can use. (I have two
activate the cold pack, but instead cut open andidentical sets of chemicals, knowing that the first set
empty the contents into a plastic bag and discard thewill get used up very quickly.)
water pouch inside), aluminum sulfate ("alum" in theTip for Testing Chemical Reactions: Periodically hold
spice section of the grocery store or drug store), ayour hand under the muffin cups to test the
head of red cabbage and a clear liquid dish soap suchtemperature.
as Ivory.After the initial burst of enthusiasm, your homschool
Cover your kitchen table with a plastic tablecloth (ifscience students will intrinsically start asking better
you have small kids, put another tablecloth on the floorquestions. They will want to know why their green goo
to catch the spills). Place your chemicals on the table.is creeping onto the floor while someone else just
A set of muffin cups make for an excellent chemistrybubbled up hot pink, seemingly mixed from the same
experiment lab. (Alternatively, you can use emptystuff. Give them the change to figure out a more
plastic ice cube trays.) You will mix in these cups.systematic approach, and ask if they need help before
Leave enough space in the cups for your chemicals toyou jump in to assist.
mix and bubble up - don't fill them all the way whenHomeschool Science Teaching Tips: You can make
you do your experiments!this lab more advanced by adding a postage scale (to
Set out your liquid chemicals in easy-to-pour containers,measure the solids in exact measurements), small
such as water bottles (be sure to label them, as theybeakers and pipettes for the liquid measurements, and
all will look the same): alcohol, hydrogen peroxide,data sheets to record temperature, reactivity, and acid
water, acetic acid, and dish soap (mixed with water).base indicator levels. Hint - make the data sheet like a
Set out small bowls (or zipper bags if you're doing thismatrix, to be sure you get all the possible combinations.
with a crowd) of the powders with "scoopers" madeUse the indicator both before and after you mix up
of the tops of your water bottles. The smallchemicals, and you will be surprised and dazzled by
"scoopers" regulate the amounts you need for athe results!
muffin-sized reaction. Label the powders, as they all________________________ As a teacher,
look the same.homeschool science teacher, engineer and university
Although these chemicals are not harmful to your skin,instructor Aurora Lipper has been helping kids learn
they can cause your skin to dry out and itch. Wearscience for over a decade.