I did a series of chemistry experiments with Bobby and Katie today, with varying degrees of success.
We started off with an experiment from one of the “Magic School Bus” kits that we initially bought for Katie years ago. It involved litmus paper, which was included with the kit. We tried it on vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda, water, etc., with limited success. Maybe the litmus paper is too old?
At any rate we soon moved to the combination of vinegar and baking soda. We saw on a YouTube video that a lady put this into a baggie and it went off with a big bang. We tried this, and it did work, but the “bang” was limited. I found an old ph strip bottle in my bathroom with a tight lid. When we used this particular container the bang was much bitter and the bottle top threw across the yard (see photo to the right). Success… Safety first though…you can see Bobby wearing my glasses just in case something might fly back into his eyes.
The point of the experiment, which I explained to the kids, was the combination of vinegar + baking soda = water + carbon dioxide. Since carbon dioxide is a gas, the more the reaction continues, the more gas is created, until the container can hold it no longer. At this point, BANG!
Bobby is making great progress on his version of “Dog Man”. He even has some pictures in the book that he colored. I’ll let him finish it first, then see if Katie can offer some suggestions before we put it up on Kindle.
Katie and Bobby made a great little video today about Bobby in a box. I’m going to put it up on iKatieBobby once they are done.