Science experiments with Daddy

Last week we visited Daddy at work and conducted some special science experiments with him. Daddy works in a chemistry lab at a university. It's always an exciting experience to visit him at work as we usually only go a couple of times a year (usually when it's school holidays and we don't have as much to do!) It's a bit of a novelty for the kids to go into the city. They are constructing a new building next to Daddy's at the moment too and the kids love watching all the machinery working.

We got some lunch from the bakery and took it to a local park to eat. When we got back to the lab after lunch it was time to do some experiments! We made slime (a different slime to the one we made a few weeks ago) and watched a sugar volcano.

SLIME

Lots of fun was had making this slime (and putting it all over everything at home when we came home!) First we added all our ingredients and then the kids helped to mix it all up. It was interesting seeing the reactions taking place. It went from a liquid to a solid as we mixed it. The best part though was getting to feel it - as you can see by Jacob's face!

Slime (the scientific way!)

Ingredients

50 mL 6% PVA
10mL 4% borax
food colouring

Method

Mix the PVA and 3-4 drops of food colouring in a glass container (the slime will stick to plastic!) then add the borax and start stirring. When the slime starts to stick together, tip it out into your hands and gently knead it until it gives the right consistency. If it's too wet and slippery, add a little bit more borax. If it's crumbly, add a little bit more PVA.

And for the non-scientific method (aka the one you can make at home!)

Mix 1 teaspoon borax in 1 cup of water. Stir until the borax is dissolved. In a separate container, mix 1/2 cup white glue (PVA) with 1/2 cup water. Add 3-4 drops of food coloring, if desired. Mix the two solutions together and stir. The slime will start to form immediately. Once the slime is well formed, start to knead it with your hands (out of the bowl!) Some water may be left over in the bowl.

SUGAR VOLCANO

Here's what happens when you add sulphuric acid to sugar. Nothing much at first but then the sugar starts to dehydrate which produces steam and heat (a lot of heat!) Eventually it turns into carbon (which is what the kids are touching in the last picture). Even I was interested in seeing all this happen.

Sugar volcano

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
50mls sulphuric acid

Method

Put the sugar in a bowl and pour the sulphuric acid over the top. We don't recommend you try this at home though, this experiment was done under a fume hood at Daddy's work.

And finally, I just thought I would add this picture of Chris and Jacob. Jacob really loves his Daddy and had such a great time doing special things at his work with him.



Visit We play at Childhood 101 for more great play ideas