Snow Day Science Experiment

We are on our third snow day in a row. And once again, it was because of the extreme cold not the snow that school was canceled! Since it was too cold to venture outside, we ended up doing some indoor activities. First up was a science experiment: inflating a balloon with vinegar and baking soda, which I had heard about here. Our first balloon worked great. The second one was a flop, and we were done after that.

{We successfully inflated a balloon using science!}

Materials:

• empty plastic bottle (with a small mouth, preferably)
• vinegar
• baking soda
• balloon
• 2 funnels

Directions:

1. Using a funnel, fill the bottle about 1/3 of the way with vinegar. (Note: I first drew a line with a black Sharpie so that the kids would have a visual for when to stop pouring.) One child held the funnel and bottle while the other one poured the vinegar. (Note: Our bottle was an old teriyaki bottle that I pulled from the recycling bin. The neck is warped from the dishwasher, but it had the narrowest mouth of any bottle I could find in the bin, so it was the clear choice.)

   

   {Pouring the vinegar into the bottle}

2. With a second funnel (or the first funnel, assuming you have first dried it completely), add baking soda to a balloon, filling it about half way. They switched roles so that the first pourer was now the holder of the funnel and the balloon, and the first holder was now the pourer of the baking soda.

   

   {Pouring the baking soda into the balloon}

3. Carefully stretch the balloon's opening so that it fits over the mouth of the bottle. (Note: They can tear, so watch out for this.) Be sure not to spill the baking soda into the bottle while you are doing this. I did this step myself.
4. Kids can now lift up the balloon, allowing the baking soda to spill into the bottle. The chemical reaction makes the balloon inflate, which is fun for everyone! (Note: If your balloon happens to break apart while doing this, try to stop them from pouring in any more baking soda. Otherwise, you wind up with a volcano instead of an inflated balloon. While fun, too, this was not the science experiment I was going for, so I wasn't prepared for it!)

   

   {Adding the baking soda to the vinegar}

{I love his excitement!}