Fun science with a blast from the past. If you have a lava lamp growing up you are going to love introducing this fun science experiment to your students. Try this DIY lava lamp with water beads experiment in your classroom this week!
DIY Lava Lamp and Water Bead Experiment
This lava lamp is the perfect way for your students to add STEM to their day. You’ll need a couple simple materials, but the experiment comes together quickly and the reactions are almost immediate. This is perfect for your kindergarten classrooms with busy little learners.
Getting Ready for the DIY Lava Lamp with Water Beads Experiment
Most of the ingredients you already have in your stash:
- Vegetable Oil
- Water
- Clear, Empty Bottle
- Food Coloring
- Alka-seltzer Tablets
- Plush Water Beads (Like Pictured Above)
Doing DIY Lava Lamp With Water Beads Experiment
We started out by filling out part of the recording sheet. It’s a freebie printable that can be found at the end of this post.
Discuss the process the scientific method and create a hypothesis.
Then, pour enough oil to fill half of the clear bottle.
In a separate bowl, mix food coloring with water. When you’re ready, pour the water mixture into the bottle with the oil.
Leave room at the top of the bottle to save room for chemical reaction that happens later. The oil and water mixture will mix at first, but then will settle and separate.
After the oil and water mixture separate, break up 1 or 2 alkaseltzer tablets and drop a couple pieces at a time into the bottle. The reaction is instantaneous and perfect for excited students. You can choose to add two full tablets or just a piece depending on the amount of time you have.
Next, add the water beads. These water beads have already been soaked in water and are as plump as they can get. Add about 20 water beads per bottle. They mostly sank to the bottom, but then a fun reaction happened.
The water beads dance around the bottle as they rose up and then fell back down. The reaction can be quick, so be sure your students are watching.
After the bottles sit for a while, the oil and water will separate again and the experiment can be duplicated.
Benefits of the DIY Lava Lamp
This is a great STEM project for students. Students will learn about cause and effect as well as using the scientific method.
DIY lava lamp is a great way to explore the sense and help students develop their ability to observe.
More Science Activities and Ideas
Walking Water Science for Kids
Oil and Water Science Activity
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Download Your Lava Lamp Recording Sheet Below!
I hope that you and your students Lava Lamp Recording Sheet to use in your classroom this year!
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