Did you know that May 29 is Chemist's Day? Who among us in childhood did not dream of creating unique and amazing magic? chemical experiments? It's time to make your dreams come true! Read on quickly and we will tell you how to have fun on Chemist Day 2017, as well as what chemical experiments for children can be easily done at home.
Home volcano
If you are not already attracted, then... Do you want to see a volcanic eruption? Try it at home! To arrange a chemical experiment “volcano” you will need soda, vinegar, food coloring, a plastic glass, a glass warm water.
Pour 2-3 tablespoons of baking soda into a plastic cup, add ¼ cup of warm water and a little food coloring, preferably red. Then add ¼ vinegar and watch the volcano “erupt”.
Rose and ammonia
A very interesting and original chemical experiment with plants can be seen in the video from YouTube:
Self-inflating balloon
Do you want to conduct safe chemical experiments for children? Then you will definitely like the balloon experiment. Prepare in advance: a plastic bottle, baking soda, a balloon and vinegar.
Pour 1 teaspoon of baking soda inside the ball. Pour ½ cup of vinegar into the bottle, then put a ball on the neck of the bottle and make sure that the soda gets into the vinegar. As a result of a violent chemical reaction, which is accompanied by the active release of carbon dioxide, the balloon will begin to inflate.
Pharaoh snake
For the experiment you will need: calcium gluconate tablets, dry fuel, matches or a gas burner. Watch the algorithm of actions on YouTube video:
Colorful magic
Do you want to surprise your child? Hurry up and conduct chemical experiments with color! You will need the following available ingredients: starch, iodine, transparent container.
Mix snow-white starch and brown iodine in a container. The result is an amazing mixture of blue.
Raising a snake
The most interesting home chemical experiments can be carried out using available ingredients. To create a snake you will need: a plate, river sand, powdered sugar, ethyl alcohol, a lighter or burner, baking soda.
Place a pile of sand on a plate and soak it in alcohol. Make a depression in the top of the slide, where you carefully add powdered sugar and soda. Now we set fire to the sand slide and watch. After a couple of minutes, a dark wriggling ribbon that resembles a snake will begin to grow from the top of the slide.
How to conduct chemical experiments with an explosion, see the following video from Youtube:
Useful tips
Children are always trying to find out something new every day, and they always have a lot of questions.
They can explain some phenomena, or they can show clearly how this or that thing, this or that phenomenon works.
In these experiments, children will not only learn something new, but also learn create differentcrafts, with which they can then play.
1. Experiments for children: lemon volcano
You will need:
2 lemons (for 1 volcano)
Baking soda
Food coloring or watercolor paints
Dishwashing liquid
Wooden stick or spoon (if desired)
1. Cut off the bottom of the lemon so it can be placed on a flat surface.
2. On the back side, cut out a piece of lemon as shown in the image.
* You can cut off half a lemon and make an open volcano.
3. Take the second lemon, cut it in half and squeeze the juice into a cup. This will be the reserved lemon juice.
4. Place the first lemon (with the cut out part) on the tray and use a spoon to “squeeze” the lemon inside to squeeze out some of the juice. It is important that the juice is inside the lemon.
5. Add food coloring or watercolor inside the lemon, but do not stir.
6. Pour dish soap inside the lemon.
7. Add a spoonful to the lemon baking soda. The reaction will begin. You can use a stick or spoon to stir everything inside the lemon - the volcano will begin to foam.
8. To make the reaction last longer, you can gradually add more soda, dyes, soap and reserve lemon juice.
2. Home experiments for children: electric eels made from chewing worms
You will need:
2 glasses
Small capacity
4-6 gummy worms
3 tablespoons baking soda
1/2 spoon of vinegar
1 cup water
Scissors, kitchen or stationery knife.
1. Using scissors or a knife, cut lengthwise (precisely lengthwise - it won't be easy, but be patient) each worm into 4 (or more) pieces.
* The smaller the piece, the better.
*If the scissors do not cut properly, try washing them with soap and water.
2. Mix water and baking soda in a glass.
3. Add pieces of worms to the solution of water and soda and stir.
4. Leave the worms in the solution for 10-15 minutes.
5. Using a fork, transfer the worm pieces to a small plate.
6. Pour half a spoon of vinegar into an empty glass and start putting worms into it one by one.
* The experiment can be repeated if you wash the worms with plain water. After a few attempts, your worms will begin to dissolve, and then you will have to cut a new batch.
3. Experiments and experiments: a rainbow on paper or how light is reflected on a flat surface
You will need:
Bowl of water
Clear nail polish
Small pieces of black paper.
1. Add 1-2 drops of clear nail polish to a bowl of water. Watch how the varnish spreads through the water.
2. Quickly (after 10 seconds) dip a piece of black paper into the bowl. Take it out and let it dry on a paper towel.
3. After the paper has dried (this happens quickly) start turning the paper and look at the rainbow that appears on it.
* To better see a rainbow on paper, look at it under the sun's rays.
4. Experiments at home: rain cloud in a jar
As small drops of water accumulate in a cloud, they become heavier and heavier. Eventually they will reach such a weight that they can no longer remain in the air and will begin to fall to the ground - this is how rain appears.
This phenomenon can be shown to children using simple materials.
You will need:
Shaving foam
Food coloring.
1. Fill the jar with water.
2. Apply shaving foam on top - it will be a cloud.
3. Have your child start dripping food coloring onto the “cloud” until it starts to “rain” - drops of coloring begin to fall to the bottom of the jar.
During the experiment, explain this phenomenon to your child.
You will need:
Warm water
Sunflower oil
4 food colors
1. Fill the jar 3/4 full with warm water.
2. Take a bowl and stir 3-4 tablespoons of oil and a few drops of food coloring into it. IN in this example 1 drop of each of 4 dyes was used - red, yellow, blue and green.
3. Using a fork, stir the coloring and oil.
4. Carefully pour the mixture into a jar of warm water.
5. Watch what happens - the food coloring will begin to slowly fall through the oil into the water, after which each drop will begin to disperse and mix with the other drops.
* Food coloring dissolves in water, but not in oil, because... oil density less water(that’s why it “floats” on the water). The dye droplet is heavier than the oil, so it will begin to sink until it reaches the water, where it will begin to disperse and look like a small fireworks display.
6. Interesting experiments: ina circle in which the colors merge
You will need:
- printout of the wheel (or you can cut out your own wheel and draw all the colors of the rainbow on it)
Elastic band or thick thread
Glue stick
Scissors
Skewer or screwdriver (to make holes in the paper wheel).
1. Select and print the two templates you want to use.
2. Take a piece of cardboard and use a glue stick to glue one template to the cardboard.
3. Cut out the glued circle from cardboard.
4. TO back side Glue the second template onto the cardboard circle.
5. Use a skewer or screwdriver to make two holes in the circle.
6. Thread the thread through the holes and tie the ends into a knot.
Now you can spin your top and watch how the colors merge on the circles.
7. Experiments for children at home: jellyfish in a jar
You will need:
Small transparent plastic bag
Transparent plastic bottle
Food coloring
Scissors.
1. Place the plastic bag on a flat surface and smooth it out.
2. Cut off the bottom and handles of the bag.
3. Cut the bag lengthwise on the right and left so that you have two sheets of polyethylene. You will need one sheet.
4. Find the center of the plastic sheet and fold it like a ball to make a jellyfish head. Tie a thread in the area of the jellyfish's "neck", but not too tightly - you need to leave a small hole through which to pour water into the jellyfish's head.
5. There is a head, now let's move on to the tentacles. Make cuts in the sheet - from the bottom to the head. You need approximately 8-10 tentacles.
6. Cut each tentacle into 3-4 smaller pieces.
7. Pour some water into the jellyfish's head, leaving room for air so the jellyfish can "float" in the bottle.
8. Fill a bottle with water and put your jellyfish in it.
9. Add a couple drops of blue or green food coloring.
* Close the lid tightly to prevent water from spilling out.
* Let the children turn the bottle over and watch the jellyfish swim in it.
8. Chemical experiments: magic crystals in a glass
You will need:
Glass glass or bowl
Plastic bowl
1 cup Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) - used in bath salts
1 cup hot water
Food coloring.
1. Place Epsom salts in a bowl and add hot water. You can add a couple of drops of food coloring to the bowl.
2. Stir the contents of the bowl for 1-2 minutes. Most of the salt granules should dissolve.
3. Pour the solution into a glass or glass and place it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. Don't worry, the solution is not so hot that the glass will crack.
4. After freezing, transfer the solution to the main compartment of the refrigerator, preferably on the top shelf, and leave overnight.
The growth of crystals will be noticeable only after a few hours, but it is better to wait overnight.
This is what the crystals look like the next day. Remember that crystals are very fragile. If you touch them, they will most likely immediately break or crumble.
9. Experiments for children (video): soap cube
10. Chemical experiments for children (video): how to make a lava lamp with your own hands
Not a single person even slightly familiar with the problems modern education, will not argue about the advantages of the Soviet system. However, it also had certain disadvantages, in particular, in the study of natural science subjects the emphasis was often placed on providing a theoretical component, and practice was relegated to the background. At the same time, any teacher will confirm that the best way to arouse a child’s interest in these subjects is to show some spectacular physical or chemical experiment. This is especially important at the initial stage of studying such subjects and even long before that. In the second case, a special kit for chemical experiments, which can be used at home, can be a good help for parents. True, when purchasing such a gift, fathers and mothers must understand that they will also have to take part in classes, since such a “toy” in the hands of a child left unattended poses a certain danger.
What is a chemical experiment
First of all, you need to understand what we are talking about. In general, it is generally accepted that a chemical experiment is a manipulation of various organic and inorganic substances in order to establish their properties and reactions under various conditions. If we're talking about about experiments that are carried out with the aim of arousing in the child a desire to study the world, then they should be spectacular and at the same time simple. In addition, it is not recommended to select options that require special security measures.
Where to begin
First of all, you can tell your child that everything that surrounds us, including his own body, consists of various substances that interact. As a result, one can observe various phenomena: both those to which people have long been accustomed and do not pay attention to them, and very unusual ones. In this case, as an example, we can cite rust, which is a consequence of the oxidation of metals, or smoke from a fire, which is a gas released during combustion various items. Next, you can start showing simple chemical experiments.
"Egg Float"
Very interesting experience can be demonstrated using an egg and an aqueous solution of hydrochloric acid. To carry it out, you need to take a glass carafe or a wide glass and pour a 5 percent solution into the bottom of hydrochloric acid. Then you need to lower the egg into it and wait a while.
Soon, bubbles of carbon dioxide will appear on the surface of the eggshell, due to the reaction of hydrochloric acid and calcium carbonate contained in the shell, and lift the egg upward. Having reached the surface, the gas bubbles will burst, and the “load” will again go to the bottom of the dish. The process of lifting and diving of the egg will continue until all the eggshells are dissolved in hydrochloric acid.
"Secret Signs"
Interesting chemical experiments can also be done with sulfuric acid. For example, using a cotton swab dipped in a 20% sulfuric acid solution, draw figures or letters on paper and wait for the liquid to dry. Then the sheet is ironed with a hot iron and watch as black letters begin to appear. This experience will be even more effective if you hold the piece of paper over a candle flame, but this must be done extremely carefully, trying not to set the paper on fire.
"Fire inscription"
The previous experiment can be done differently. To do this, draw the outline of a figure or letter on a sheet of paper with a pencil and prepare a composition consisting of 20 g of KNO 3 dissolved in 15 ml of hot water. Then use a brush to saturate the paper along the pencil lines so that there are no gaps left. As soon as the audience is ready and the sheet is dry, you need to bring a burning splinter to the inscription at only one point. A spark will immediately appear and “run” along the contour of the drawing until it reaches the end of the line.
Surely young viewers will be interested in why this effect is achieved. Explain that when heated, potassium nitrate turns into another substance, potassium nitrite, and releases oxygen, which supports combustion.
"Fireproof handkerchief"
Children will certainly be interested in the experience with “fireproof” fabric. To demonstrate it, dissolve 10 g of silicate glue in 100 ml of water and moisten a piece of fabric or handkerchief with the resulting liquid. Then it is squeezed out and, using tweezers, immersed in a container with acetone or gasoline. Immediately set fire to the fabric with a splinter and watch how the flame “devours” the scarf, but it remains intact.
"Blue Bouquet"
Simple chemical experiments can be very spectacular. We suggest you surprise the viewer by using paper flowers, the petals of which should be coated with glue made from natural starch. Then you need to place the bouquet in a jar, add a few drops of alcohol tincture of iodine to the bottom and close the lid tightly. After a few minutes, a “miracle” will happen: the flowers will turn blue, as iodine vapor will cause the starch to change color.
"Christmas decorations"
An original chemical experience that will give you beautiful jewelry for a mini-Christmas tree, it will work if you use a saturated solution (1:12) of potassium alum KAl(SO 4) 2 with the addition of copper sulfate CuSO 4 (1:5).
First you need to make a figurine frame out of wire, wrap it with white woolen threads and dip them into a pre-prepared mixture. In a week or two, crystals will grow on the workpiece, which should be coated with varnish so that they do not crumble.
"Volcanoes"
A very effective chemical experiment can be achieved if you take a plate, plasticine, baking soda, table vinegar, red dye and dishwashing liquid. Next you need to do the following:
- divide a piece of plasticine into two parts;
- roll one into a flat pancake, and from the second mold a hollow cone, at the top of which you need to leave a hole;
- place the cone on a plasticine base and connect it so that the “volcano” does not allow water to pass through;
- place the structure on a tray;
- pour “lava” consisting of 1 tbsp. l. baking soda and a few drops of liquid food coloring;
- When the audience is ready, pour vinegar into the “mouth” and watch the violent reaction, during which carbon dioxide is released and red foam flows out of the volcano.
As you can see, home chemical experiments can be very diverse, and all of them will interest not only children, but also adults.
More than 160 experiments that clearly demonstrate the laws of physics and chemistry were filmed, edited and posted online on the scientific and educational video channel “Simple Science”. Many of the experiments are so simple that they can be easily repeated at home - they do not require special reagents or equipment. Letidor was told by Denis Mokhov, author and Chief Editor scientific and educational video channel “Simple Science”.
– How did your project begin?
– Since childhood, I have loved various experiences. For as long as I can remember, I have been collecting various ideas for experiments, in books, TV shows, so that I can then repeat them myself. When I became a father myself (my son Mark is now 10 years old), it was always important for me to maintain my son’s curiosity and, of course, to be able to answer his questions. After all, like any child, he looks at the world completely differently than adults. And at a certain point, his favorite word became the word “why?” It is from these “why?” home experiments began. After all, telling is one thing, but showing is something completely different. We can say that my child’s curiosity was the impetus for creating the “Simple Science” project.
– How old was your son when you started practicing experiments at home?
– We have been doing experiments at home since the moment our son went to school. kindergarten, somewhere after two years. At first these were completely simple experiments with water and balance. For example, jet pack , paper flowers on the water , two forks on a match head. My son immediately liked these funny “tricks.” Moreover, like me, it is always interesting for him not so much to observe as to repeat them himself.
–
You can conduct interesting experiments in the bathroom with young children: with a boat and liquid soap, paper boat and hot air balloon,
tennis ball and water jet. From birth, a child strives to learn everything new; he will definitely enjoy these spectacular and colorful experiences.
When we are dealing with schoolchildren, even first-graders, then we can go all out. At this age, children are interested in relationships, they will observe the experiment more carefully, and then look for an explanation of why it happens this way and not otherwise. Here it is possible to explain the essence of the phenomenon, the reasons for the interactions, even if not in entirely scientific terms. And when a child encounters similar phenomena during school lessons (including in high school), the teacher’s explanations will be clear to him, because he already knows this from childhood, he has personal experience in this area.
Interesting experiments for younger students
**Package pierced with pencils**
**Egg in a bottle**
Rubber egg
**– Denis, what do you advise parents in terms of the safety of home experiments?** – I would conditionally divide the experiments into three groups: harmless, experiments that require care and experiments, and the last **–** experiments that require compliance with safety precautions. If you are demonstrating how two forks rest on the end of a toothpick, then this is the first case. If you are doing an experiment with atmospheric pressure, when a glass of water is covered with a paper sheet and then turned over, then you need to be careful not to spill water on electrical appliances **–** do the experiment over the sink. When experiments involve fire, keep a container of water just in case. And if you use any reagents or chemicals (even ordinary vinegar), it is better to go out into the fresh air or into a well-ventilated area (for example, a balcony) and be sure to put on safety glasses on the child (you can use ski, construction or sunglasses).
**– Where can I get reagents and equipment?** **– ** At home, when conducting experiments with children under 10 years of age, it is best to use publicly available reagents and equipment. This is what each of us has in the kitchen: soda, salt, chicken egg, forks, glasses, liquid soap. Safety is paramount in our business. Especially if your “young chemist,” after successful experiments with you, tries to repeat the experiments on his own. Just don’t need to prohibit anything, all children are inquisitive, and the prohibition will act as an additional incentive! It is better to explain to the child why some experiments cannot be done without adults, what is certain rules, somewhere you need an open area to conduct the experiment, somewhere you need rubber gloves or goggles. **– Have there been any cases in your practice when an experiment turned into an emergency?** **– ** Well, nothing like that happened at home. But in the editorial office of “Simple Science”, incidents often happen. Once, while doing an experiment with acetone and chromium oxide, we slightly miscalculated the proportions, and the experiment almost got out of control.
And recently, while filming for the Science 2.0 channel, we had to do a spectacular experiment when 2000 table tennis balls fly out of a barrel and fall beautifully to the floor. So, the barrel turned out to be quite fragile and instead of a beautiful flight of balls, there was an explosion with a deafening roar. **– Where do you get ideas for experiments?** **–** We find ideas on the Internet, in popular science books, in the news about some interesting discoveries or unusual phenomena. The main criteria are **–** entertainment and simplicity. We try to choose experiments that are easy to repeat at home. True, sometimes we produce “delicacies” **–** experiments that require unusual devices and special ingredients, but this does not happen too often. Sometimes we consult with professionals from certain fields, for example, when we do experiments on superconductivity at low temperatures or in chemical experiments when rare reagents are required. Our viewers (whose number this month has exceeded 3 million) also help us in finding ideas, for which we, of course, thank them.
Who loved at school laboratory works in chemistry? It was interesting, after all, to mix something with something and get a new substance. True, it didn’t always work out as described in the textbook, but no one suffered because of this, right? The main thing is that something happens, and we see it right in front of us.
If in real life If you are not a chemist and do not encounter much more complex experiments every day at work, then these experiments, which can be done at home, will definitely amuse you, at least.
Lava lamp
For the experience you need:
— Transparent bottle or vase
— Water
- Sunflower oil
- Food coloring
— Several effervescent tablets “Suprastin”
Mix water with food coloring and add sunflower oil. There is no need to stir, and you won’t be able to. When a clear line between water and oil is visible, throw a couple of Suprastin tablets into the container. We look at the lava flows.
Since the density of oil is lower than that of water, it remains on the surface, with the effervescent tablet creating bubbles that carry water to the surface.
Elephant toothpaste
For the experience you need:
- Bottle
— Small cup
— Water
— Dish detergent or liquid soap
- Hydrogen peroxide
— Fast-acting nutritional yeast
- Food coloring
Mix liquid soap, hydrogen peroxide and food coloring in a bottle. In a separate cup, dilute the yeast with water and pour the resulting mixture into the bottle. We look at the eruption.
Yeast produces oxygen, which reacts with hydrogen and is pushed out. Because of soap suds the result is a dense mass erupting from the bottle.
Hot Ice
For the experience you need:
— Capacity for heating
— Transparent glass cup
- Plate
– 200 g baking soda
— 200 ml of acetic acid or 150 ml of its concentrate
— Crystallized salt
Mix acetic acid and baking soda in a saucepan and wait until the mixture stops sizzling. Turn on the stove and evaporate excess moisture until an oily film appears on the surface. Pour the resulting solution into a clean container and cool until room temperature. Then add a crystal of soda and watch how the water “freezes” and the container becomes hot.
Heated and mixed, vinegar and soda form sodium acetate, which when melted becomes an aqueous solution of sodium acetate. When salt is added to it, it begins to crystallize and generate heat.
Rainbow in milk
For the experience you need:
- Milk
- Plate
— Liquid food coloring in several colors
— Cotton swab
— Detergent
Pour milk into a plate, drip dyes in several places. Soak a cotton swab in detergent and place it in a plate with milk. Let's look at the rainbow.
The liquid part contains a suspension of fat droplets, which, in contact with the detergent, split and rush from the inserted stick in all directions. A regular circle is formed due to surface tension.
Smoke without fire
For the experience you need:
— Hydroperite
— Analgin
— Mortar and pestle (can be replaced with a ceramic cup and spoon)
It is better to do the experiment in a well-ventilated area.
Grind the hydroperite tablets to powder, do the same with analgin. Mix the resulting powders, wait a little, see what happens.
During the reaction, hydrogen sulfide, water and oxygen are formed. This leads to partial hydrolysis with the elimination of methylamine, which interacts with hydrogen sulfide, the suspension of its small crystals resembling smoke.
Pharaoh snake
For the experience you need:
- Calcium gluconate
- Dry fuel
— Matches or lighter
Place several tablets of calcium gluconate on dry fuel and set it on fire. We look at the snakes.
Calcium gluconate decomposes when heated, which leads to an increase in the volume of the mixture.
Non-Newtonian fluid
For the experience you need:
— Mixing bowl
— 200 g corn starch
- 400 ml water
Gradually add water to the starch and stir. Try to make the mixture homogeneous. Now try to roll a ball from the resulting mass and hold it.
The so-called non-Newtonian fluid behaves like a solid when interacting quickly, and like a liquid when interacting slowly.