Lava Lamp Experiment

Do you remember lava lamps from when you were a teenager? Were you even around?! LOL. Lava lamps made a come back in the 90s. I had one in high school and I loved it.

This experiment imitates the look of a lava lamp. It is an easy experiment to do with kids and they will love watching the chemical reaction! You need only a few supplies for this one:

• Small plastic water bottle
• Denture tabs or Alka Seltzer
• Water
• Seed oil
• Liquid food color

Begin by filling a water bottle half way with seed oil. Then fill it the rest of the way with water. Leave about an inch of space on top.

Drop a few drop of food coloring into the bottle.

Add 1 denture tab to the mixture and close the water bottle lid. The water reacts with the denture tabs to make carbon dioxide. The bubbles attach themselves to the colored water and bring them to the surface. When the bubbles pop, they fall back to the base of the bottle, creating the infamous up and down motion of a Lava lamp.

Kids will love watching this experiment unfold.

This experiment is possible to do indoors with a plastic tablecloth. It is less messy and no explosions are involved! Happy experimenting!