Liz Heinecke—aka the Kitchen Pantry Scientist—is back with seasonal science fun for your kids.
Transforming your kitchen table into a mad scientist’s laboratory for Halloween is easier than saying “boo.” With a few ingredients from your pantry (or local Target), you can stir up amazing potions that will get kids of all ages excited about science and make any Halloween party unforgettable. Don’t be scared—just get started!
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Goblin Goo: With cornstarch and water, ghosts and goblins can stir up a cauldron of Goblin Goo, a non-Newtonian fluid that will astonish any crowd. Add a little food coloring to match your party theme.
What You’ll Need:
1 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup water
Food coloring
What You’ll Do: Mix the two ingredients in a medium-size bowl with a spoon or your fingers. The goo should be the consistency of syrup. Add a little food coloring (purple and green are fun for Halloween!) and play with the mixture. You’ll discover that it behaves like a solid when you agitate it and like a liquid when you let it sit still.
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Alien Monster Eggs: Eggs bubble like magic when vinegar breaks chemical bonds to dissolve their shells, leaving only the soft balloon-like membranes intact. See what happens when corn syrup sucks the water from the inside, leaving shriveled, see-through Alien Monster Eggs. A vase or jar full of these creepy eggs makes a spectacularly spooky centerpiece.
What You’ll Need:
Eggs
White vinegar
Green food coloring
Corn syrup
Glass jar
What You’ll Do: Put raw eggs into glass jars filled and cover the eggs with (white or cider) vinegar. Remember to always wash your hands after handling raw eggs. Let them sit overnight in the refrigerator and see what they feel like the next day. To make alien monster eggs, return the eggs to the jars. Cover them with corn syrup and add some green food coloring. Leave them for 24 hours in the refrigerator and see how they feel the next day. Watch out for aliens.
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Green Slime: Glue, Borax, water and food coloring combine to form gooey, stretchy green polymer slime that can be rolled into long ropes or shaped into bouncy balls. Don’t forget the plastic baggies! Everyone will want to take some home.
What You’ll Need:
Elmer’s glue (the non-washable kind)
Borax
Green food coloring
Water
What You’ll Do: Mix together about 1/3 cup glue and 1/3 cup water with a spoon or Popsicle stick (these measurements don’t have to be exact). Add a few drops of green food coloring and stir. To make the Borax solution, add around a cup of water to a jar. To the water, add about a tablespoon of Borax. Shake or stir to dissolve as much of the Borax as possible. You’re making a saturated solution, so it may not all dissolve! Add a teaspoon at a time of the Borax solution to the glue/water mix. After each addition, stir the mixture. You’ll see long strings begin to form and stick together. Keep adding Borax until the mixture doesn’t feel sticky. It will form a shiny playdough-like substance. If you add too much Borax solution, it will feel wet but you can squish it around in your hands to absorb the extra water.
Photos by PD-Photography