Halloween Science Experiment in a Pumpkin

Are you ready for a Halloween science project that your kids just cannot keep their hands out of?

You can do this science experiment like a volcano in a normal vase or bottle, but with pumpkins popping up in all the stores, it is awfully fun to make the pumpkin vomit a foaming chemical reaction! We were inspired to put our eruption in a pumpkin after we saw this cool Pumpkin-Cano at Little Bins for Little Hands!

We actually made our very exciting vomiting pumpkin at our Homeschool Halloween Science Day in the Park last year, but you can do it at school or home or just for fun!

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To make your own vomiting pumpkin, you will need these

Simple Supplies:

* A Pre-cut Jack-o-Lantern! You can do this in advance or as part of the Halloween science fun...but having it is really important! Make sure to read the note about carving in the Easy How To!

* food coloring

* 2 Tablespoons warm water

* 1 teaspoon instant yeast

* 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide (6% works best. Click here for more information about this!)

* a squirt of dish soap

Easy How To:

1- Make sure your pumpkin is ready to go!
NOTE ABOUT CARVING A PUMPKIN FOR THIS SCIENCE ACTIVITY: It is very helpful for mixing if you make sure the mouth is at least 2-3 inches above the bottom of the pumpkin. This leaves a small "bowl" at the bottom of the pumpkin for the chemicals to mix in. After they mix, they will rise to the mouth and (depending on how quickly it goes!) to the nose and eyes! But you need room at the bottom of the pumpkin!

2- Gather your supplies and create a mess-catching zone. We just worked outside. (Note: I included Amazon affiliate links at the bottom of some of the harder-to-find supplies...hope it helps!)

3- Mix the warm water and yeast together on the side and let it sit for a minute or two. While you wait, you can do step 4, talk about how pumpkins grow, or tell a story about how your pumpkin ate so much candy, he started to feel ill...

4- Pour the hydrogen peroxide in the pumpkin. Let your kiddos add 5-6 drops of the food coloring of their choice and a squirt of dish soap. Give it a little stir.

5- Dump the yeast mixture into the pumpkin and watch the excitement!! Afterwards, everyone will probably want to reach in and touch the bubbles. As long as nobody is allergic to soap, this should be fine.

What's going on?

This is just a simple twist on our famous Elephant Toothpaste experiment. Pop over here to get a detailed explanation of the science behind it!

Do you know my favorite part about this Halloween science experiment? When I turned my back to help set up snacks, the "older" kids (6-10 years old), ran back to the table that still had all these supplies on it, and started erupting more vomiting pumpkins...over and over! When the preschoolers saw them, they also ran over for another round science. I love seeing them so engaged in a science activity!

Are you looking for more Halloween Science Experiments? Check out our collection!! We love combining Halloween and science, and these are our favorites experiments and activities!