Sunday, April 10, 2011

Things that go Boom!




Our grandson's elementary school had a Science Fair on Friday night. Participation was voluntary and both the kindergartner and the second grader decided to enter.

Ethan demonstrated how to make bubble prints and did a great job.

Tyler wanted to make a volcano (as did about six other kids.) Even though there were lots of volcanos, there was also lots of variety in how to make the volcano erupt. One volcano was made of insulation foam (which sure looked like a chocolate volcano. Good enough to eat.) One of Tyler's friends made a volcano that erupted when a handle was pushed to pump out the lava. Most beginning scientists used a combination of vinegar and baking soda to make their volcanoes erupt.

Since Tyler's Grandpa (my hubby) taught science he thought Tyler should make "Elephant Toothpaste" for his lava. Now, to make this concoction you need a high volume of peroxide which is not easy to find. Thanks to my hairdresser we were able to get enough for the experiment, but did not have time to try it out first. So, when it came time for the great eruption, my husband was hiding in case it didn't work. The peroxide was 12% and the inside of the volcano was a two liter bottle. (The directions called for a 16 oz. bottle and 6% peroxide.) He was afraid it might not make enough "toothpaste" to flow out of the bottle. He doubled all the ingredients, hoping that would do the trick.

Well, as you can see he didn't need to hide. Tyler's experiment was a great success and was met with lots of oohs and ahs and a resounding round of applause. (Thank God!)


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