~Making Flubber/Flarp/Gak~

   Who doesn't love Flubber? You can stretch it, bounce it, mold it, make fart noises with it, and if you keep it in a container with a lid, it will last forever! This recipe is very simple and quick so make sure to have all your ingredients set out before you start.

What you Need:

8 oz of glue

Water

Borax

Food color

Teaspoon

Measuring cup

Bowl

 First you pour all the glue into a large bowl. After that you fill the empty glue bottles with water and shake to help get out the rest of the glue and pour that into the bowl as well. Add food coloring to the glue and water mixture and mix well. In the measuring cup add 1 teaspoon of borax to 1/2 cup of warm water and mix. Slowly pour your borax mixture into your glue mixture while stirring. It will form quickly so once it gets hard to stir with a spoon, reach in and start mixing it with your hands, adding water as needed to reach your desired consistency. Now all that's left to do is enjoy and have fun!

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Floating vs. Sinking Experiment

   While discussing the differences between saltwater and freshwater with my boys, I thought it would be a great opportunity to introduce to them the floating vs. sinking egg experiment! We started out with two clear cups and filled them both with warm water. In one of the cups we put around 10 tablespoons of salt. After that we placed one raw egg into each of the cups and observed. Since saltwater is denser (heavier) than freshwater the egg floated instead of sinking like it did in the freshwater.

   This experiment will also work on a number of other things! We tried baby carrots and grape tomatoes and received the same results.

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~Inflating a balloon with vinegar & baking soda~

   This was one of the boys most favorite experiments we've done yet! They wanted to do it over and over again. Next time we will definitely buy the bigger balloons, since the smaller ones didn't take much time at all to blow up.

     All you need is one 16oz plastic bottle, a funnel, half a cup of vinegar, one tablespoon of baking soda, and a balloon.

   First we took the plastic bottle and used the funnel to help pour in the baking soda. Then we used the funnel again to add the vinegar. After that we very quickly placed the balloon around the top of the bottle and voila, the balloon starts to inflate immediately.

   If you have the bigger balloons it would be easier to pour the baking soda into the balloon, then place the balloon on top of the water bottle. After you've done that just lift the balloon upright to add the baking soda and the reaction will begin.

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Groovy Lava Lamp Project

   We combined some ingredients we found around the house to make a very mesmerizing and reusable lava lamp. All you need is an empty water bottle with the label removed, vegetable oil, water, food coloring (one color), and an Alka-Seltzer tablet.

   Just fill the bottle a little over halfway with the oil, then add water, stopping about an inch from the top. Add around ten drops of food coloring. Cut or break the antacid tablet into quarters and drop one quarter into the bottle. The lava lamp will then come to life! When the bubbling slows, add another quarter-tablet to get it started again. You can keep doing this as long as you'd like!

  You can also store this project by letting it sit until all the bubbles have completely dispersed. Then you simply cap it and store it in a safe place until the next time you would like to use it. My boys had so much fun with this project that they did not want to stop.

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Homemade volcano explosion!

   A good while back we tried the "baking soda & vinegar experiment" and the boys absolutely loved it. So today as we were finishing up our studies I decided that today would be a perfect time to make a volcano with them!

 First we started out by making our own play dough. What you will need:

1 cup flour
1 cup warm water
1 tsp. oil
1/4 cup salt
food coloring is optional, we decides to paint our volcanoes.

  First you mix all the ingredients above together in a pan. Then you stir with a wooden spoon over medium heat until the dough thickens and starts to form a ball (usually about 10 minutes). After that let it cool, remove it from the pan, and knead until it's blended and smooth.
Then it is time to make the volcano. All you need is:

Small plastic bottle
Vinegar
Baking soda
Red food coloring (or whatever they prefer)

   Take the small plastic bottle and cover the sides (leaving the opening at the top) with the play-dough you just made (you can paint the volcano at this time if you'd like). Then you put 2 tablespoons of baking soda into your volcano. After that you add a couple drops of food coloring, slowly poor in the vinegar and watch the volcano Erupt!

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