7 fun experiences to keep your child engaged in science

1. Invisible ink

Invisible ink contains colorless or slightly colored substances that become bright during certain processes: heating, exposure to light or a chemical developer. For this ink, you can use regular milk, a 1: 1 baking soda solution, or lemon juice.

Take a brush or cotton swab, soak it in liquid, and write something on paper. When the surface is dry, the lettering will disappear. To develop it, you need to heat the paper - for example, iron it or bring it to a candle flame. Ink becomes visible because organic matter - proteins, carbohydrates, acids - decomposes under the influence of elevated temperature with the formation of products colored yellow or brown.

2. DIY lava lamp

A simple experience that children will be delighted with, as they will have a lamp with a colored liquid, similar to red-hot lava. You will need a glass jar, a flashlight, and a few ingredients that are found in every kitchen.

Take a tablespoon of baking soda and pour it into the jar so that the powder covers the bottom. Then pour in the sunflower oil. In a separate small container, stir the vinegar and food coloring. Turn on the backlight, place a jar on top and pour the tinted vinegar into it.

Ready! Colored bubbles will alternately fall to the bottom and then rise to the neck of the jar under the influence of carbon dioxide, which is released by the interaction of soda and vinegar. They will not be able to merge with the oil due to the different density.

3. Colored fire

By changing the chemical composition of the combustible substances, it is possible to change the shades of the flame itself. Table salt and baking soda help to color the fire yellow. Shades of blue can be produced by copper chloride, selenium, boron and methane. Green color will provide the flame with copper, crimson - potassium chloride, and red is obtained from lithium chloride and calcium salts.

In order not to make a fire at home, take a simple copper wire, make a ring at the end and dip it in a solution of table salt, and then bring it to the burning burner. The flame will briefly turn yellow-orange. And the easiest way to get blue is to turn on the gas burner. A blue light will light up on the stove.

4. Rainbow in a glass

This is a simple experiment that a child can do on their own. Take four glasses, pour three tablespoons of water into them and add a few drops of dye (each glass has its own dye).

Then put a spoonful of sugar in the first container, two tablespoons of sugar in the second, and so on. Then take another glass and fill it with clean water. Carefully pour the liquid from the first four glasses into it, observing the order (take the contents of the first glass first, the second into the second, and so on). As a result, a "rainbow" will appear in the fifth container. Liquid of different colors will not mix, because you have changed its density due to sugar.

5. Hot Ice

In this experiment, you will be able to make ice that does not cool anything, but, on the contrary, gives off heat. You need to take 0.5 liters of 80% aqueous solution of acetic acid and 440 g of baking soda and mix. The liquid will sizzle and foam, so don't add the whole bite at once - pour it in a little at a time. Continue stirring the created solution until it calms down. As a result of a chemical reaction, sodium acetate is formed.

Add half a glass of water to it and boil for half an hour. The mixture will become clear, water and carbon dioxide will evaporate, and sodium acetate will turn into a liquid. Refrigerate it to room temperature. Now dip the stick into the acetate and watch the "hot ice" crystals begin to form upon contact with the rough surface.

6. Homemade bath bombs

Take 300 g of baking soda, 150 g of citric acid, 10 ml of essential oil and 5 ml of vegetable oil. Mix the ingredients and add a little water to roll into a ball. For beauty, you can also add food coloring, multi-colored bath salts, flower petals to the mixture.

Fill a round bomber or silicone cupcake dish with the mixture and let sit. When you dip the bomb in water, the baking soda and citric acid undergo a chemical neutralization reaction. At the same time, bubbles of carbon dioxide will begin to be released, which will foam the water.

7. Craft slime

Slime is a toy made of a viscous jelly-like material with the properties of a non-Newtonian liquid. To do it yourself, combine 100 ml of water and 100 ml of PVA glue, stir well, add sodium tetraborate (you can buy it at a regular pharmacy) and mix again. As a result of the chemical reaction between polyvinyl acetate and brown, a dense and viscous substance is obtained.

Take a plastic bag, put this mixture in it, add multi-colored dyes or glitters, knead the mass well and take it out of the bag - the craft slime is ready!