Mad Science Monday: 'Sploding Pumpkin Patch

We love any and all science experiments that explode here, so when I saw this great simple science experiment over at Lemon Lime Adventures, I knew we had to try this one out for our next Mad Science Monday. We are transitioning our Autumn theme into a Thanksgiving theme over the next week and a half, and we already had a couple of mini-pumpkins on our nature shelf just waiting for their next big gig.  This is a great toddler-friendly activity that they can really get their hands on. The fun outlasted the bubbles as we continued trying to slurp back up the sudsy baking soda and vinegar mix into the squeeze bottles and squirt it out again. And while they are mastering the scientific concepts of basic chemical reactions along with the fine motor skills and coordination of squeezing and squirting condiment bottles, little scientists are also building and developing descriptive vocabulary. Here's how you can set up your own 'Sploding Pumpkin Patch for some Mad Science fizzy fun any day of the week:

You Will Need:

• a basin or baking dish to work in--you could also set this up in a sensory table if you prefer
• mini pumpkins! We had two, but you can use more!
• empty condiment bottles or squeeze bottles
• white vinegar
• baking soda
• dish soap
• green food color

To Set Up Your Experiment:

Squirt several little blobs of dish soap across your basin/pan, spacing them out by several inches. I had about 4-5 little blobs in the bottom of my basin. Add one or two drops of green food coloring to each blob of dish soap. I sprinkled baking soda generously across the top and placed the pumpkins on top of that. I filled two squeeze bottles half way with white vinegar and then it was time to play, experiment and observe!

He had so much fun slowly squirting the vinegar in the beginning and watching the first bubbles appear. Then he had fun squeezing a bit harder and squirting faster! Once the bottles were empty, we experimented with squeezing them and slurping up the soapy, sudsy liquid from the bottom of the basin and squeezing it out again. It was a lot of bubbly fun! 

Want to do more? We love self-cleaning science here, and any time I use baking soda and vinegar with my little one, I always remind him of their other uses in the kitchen and around the home. If your junior scientist(s) want some more fun after the experiment is done, invite them to help in the clean-up process. Empty out the contents of the basin and rinse it well. Then replace the pumpkins along with a bit of warm water (soapy if you'd like) and a sponge or towel for pumpkin washing!