Science Experiment: Alka Seltzer Eruption

By Carla at Preschool Powol Packets - July 18, 2012

Eruptions, explosions, science experiments, and glitter are some of my daughter's favorite School Time topics. She can tell you about quite a few reactions and, today, with the help of this science project, she learned about a new one: the Alka Seltzer Eruption.

Once she saw all the ingredients, she couldn't wait to begin experimenting. They were all familiar to her expect the Alka Seltzer. I explained that when it dissolved in water, it released carbon dioxide bubbles. She knows about bubbles. She also decided that we were missing an ingredient: sparkly glitter glue. (Of course!) Once she had that, she was ready to go!

Eruption #1:

1. Fill the vase about 2/3 full of water and add 4-5 drops of food coloring.
2. Add about an inch of oil.
3. Squeeze in some sparkly glitter glue.
4. You only want about 1/2 inch of space at the top of the vase. Feel free to add more water, oil, or try another liquid!
5. Add 2 Alka Seltzer tablets, broken into quarters. This is a great step for younger siblings who like to help.

Eruption #2:

1. Fill the vase about 1/2 full of water and add 4-5 drops of food coloring.
2. Add about an inch of oil.
3. Squeeze in some sparkly glitter glue.
4. Squeeze in about 1/2 in inch of dish soap.
5. You only want about 1/2 inch of space at the top of the vase. Feel free to add more water, oil, or try another liquid!

6. Add 2 Alka Seltzer tablets, broken into quarters. Use a long skinny spoon to push the Alka Seltzer down if it gets stuck on top of the soap.
Of course, we did many more than two eruptions, but they were all variations on those two mixtures. Finally, we had one last experiment:

Experiment #3:

Explore the strange mixture in the pan that has been catching the science experiment mess. This is harmless to touch (unless your children have soap allergies), but should not be put in their mouths (it is Alka Seltzer). We also had even more fun with this science project by dropping more Alka Seltzer tablets into the pan and finding them (hint: the extra bubbles give away their location)!