Pumpkins, witches, black cats… for many kids, Halloween is a much-anticipated holiday. From getting dressed up in the spookiest costume ever, to carving the scariest pumpkin and trolling around in search of treats, these Halloween activities are so much fun, that plenty of children start preparing for them since early October.
This year, Esplora will be open for a week of special Halloween activities where visitors can engage in creepy science activities, disgusting demonstrations, and amazing experiments for all the family. Whilst preparing to join us for this spooktacular adventure between the 30th of October and 3rd November, why don’t you try out some fun, do-it-yourself experiments at home?
Try to make gummy bears grow… or shrink, depending on whether you leave them in saline water or vinegar. Or how about you try to make some candy worms dance? Create a mesmerising lava lamp and experiment in different colours to create eerie effects! These are three of the most popular, fun, experiments that you can try at home, using common ingredients that can be found in most kitchens.
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What do you need?
In this science experiment, we are going to compare gummy bears placed in water to gummy bears placed in salty water.
Let’s experiment!
Take it further
The science behind it.
Why does this happen? Osmosis!
Osmosis is the movement of water or other solvents through what is called a ‘semi permeable membrane’. Water moves from a place of ‘high concentration’ to a place of ‘low concentration’ and it does this to create balance.
Since the gummy bear contains little to no water, when it is placed in the bowl filled with water, the water moves from the bowl to the bear. Therefore, the bear grows in size.
On the other hand, the gummy bear placed in the bowl with salty water shrinks. This happens because water moves out of the gelatin bear to the water in the bowl to balance out the high concentration of salt in the solution.
Note: We don’t recommend eating the bears after they have been in salt water or vinegar.
Want to see Gummy worms come to life this Halloween? Try this fun experiment! Let’s get ready!
What do you need?
Let’s experiment!
*Adult supervision is required.
(Tip: wet the knife before you use it to avoid stickiness).
After 15 minutes:
Make a prediction. What do you think will happen?
The science behind it.
The acid from the vinegar reacts with the baking soda in the soaked gummy bears, causing a chemical reaction. This happens because carbon dioxide bubbles form when the acid reacts with the baking soda ‘base’. These bubbles are light and naturally flow to the surface, pulling the worms with them, making them dance!
Are you mesmerized by lava lamps? Here are some easy steps which you can follow to make your own Lava Lamp this Halloween.
What do you need?
Let’s experiment!
Why does the oil not mix with water?
Why does this happen?
The science behind it.
Did you know that water and oil do not mix?
Oil rises to the surface of the water because it is less dense than water and has a different molecular structure, and this keeps them from mixing together. When the tablet is then dropped into the jar, it sinks to the bottom. No reaction is observed as the tablet passes through the oil. But as soon as it touches the water, we can see that there is a chemical reaction happening. During this chemical reaction, tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide gas are released, which are less dense than the water and oil. The bubbles attach themselves to the coloured water molecules, making them float to the surface as well. When they reach the top, the bubbles pop, and the water droplets drop back down to the bottom, creating the lava lamp effect.
