Elephant Toothpaste

 

            Today's Snack: Just for fun, get your toothbrush, and eat a container of yogurt with it as a spoon! Add a couple of vanilla wafers and a cup of ice water.

 

--------------------

 

Supplies:

 

Empty 2-liter plastic pop bottle | Funnel | tub, bucket or lasagna pan

1 cup hydrogen peroxide (40 Volume 12%)

Dawn dish soap | one packet active dry yeast

OPTIONAL: food coloring and plastic glitter

4 T. very warm water | spoon | safety goggles

Plastic toys

 

 

 

 

(You might want to do this outside or in a bathtub or easily-cleaned place. Small children should observe an adult handling the chemicals and doing the experiment here, though once the foam pops up, it's safe for any age to handle)

 

With adult supervision, and wearing goggles, use the funnel to pour the hydrogen peroxide into the empty 2-liter pop bottle, placed in a tub or bucket. Add a few squirts of Dawn, and swirl gently.

 

Decide whether you want the final product to be white, or add a few drops of food coloring and/or plastic glitter into the mixture if you wish.

 

In a small container, pour one yeast packet into 4 tablespoons very warm water. Stir with spoon until well-mixed, with no clumps.

 

Work quickly. Using the funnel again, pour the yeast mixture into the bottle. Pull the funnel away.

 

Step back and watch the foamy hilarity! After a second or two, have the adult touch the foam to make sure it isn't too hot to touch, and also the bottle. You will be surprised to feel the warmth coming out.

 

You can touch the foam and play with it. It's fun to mush around and play with plastic action figures or other toys. The foam will soon melt into water, so there will be no harm to the environment and you can pour it down the sink.

 

            How does this work? The yeast acts as a catalyst - pronounced CAT uh list. That's a science term for something that makes something else happen.

 

The yeast causes a chemical reaction inside the bottle. When the yeast is mixed with water, an invisible gas is released. It makes the hydrogen peroxide split up into its ingredients - hydrogen and oxygen.

 

At first, they bubble up into a large amount of foam. Eventually, they melt into water - also known as H2O. The "H" stands for "Hydrogen" and the "O" stands for "Oxygen." There are two parts of hydrogen for every one part of oxygen in water. And that's all it is!