Chemistry in the Kitchen

There are many simple activities you can do to pique your child's interest in science. These chemistry explorations require items you already have in your kitchen cupboards. Some of them are messy...but they're all fun.

Try your hand at making "magic matter". You will need cornstarch, water and a large tub. Mix the cornstarch and water in a tub. (You can experiment with amounts of each ingredient to use, depending upon the size of batch you wish to make.) Let your child touch and manipulate the substance. It will feel hard on the surface but soft underneath.

Make "surprise" pudding. You will need vanilla pudding snacks or instant vanilla pudding and milk, and food coloring. Put a drop of blue food coloring into your child's pudding and let him stir it until it turns uniformly green. You may use red food coloring instead to make orange pudding. This is a good lesson in color mixing. It's fun to make orange pudding on Halloween and the green pudding on St. Patrick's Day.

Did you know you can make raisins dance? Materials needed are a clear cup or glass, club soda or seltzer (preferably just opened) and raisins. Fill a glass half full with club soda or seltzer. Put five raisins in the glass, one at a time. The raisins will move around in the water - "dancing". Soda and seltzer bubbles are filled with gas. The bubbles cover the raisins and make them rise.

You'll have to make a trip to the bathroom for this next activity. Get some shaving cream and you'll also need a Ziploc bag and food coloring. Spray some shaving cream into a Ziploc bag. Have your child pick two colors of food coloring and put a drop of each into the bag with the shaving cream. Close the bag securely and let your child squeeze the bag to mix the colors. Talk about how the colors mix to make a new color. You can then use the shaving cream to fingerpaint.

Make some fizzy fun. Ingredients for this exploration are a clear glass, vinegar, baking soda, food coloring and a spoon. Pour some vinegar into an empty glass. Next add a spoonful of baking soda to the vinegar. Stir it and watch it fizz. Try it with food coloring. (Vinegar and baking soda combine to produce a gas.)

This activity requires water, a small bowl, a Q-tip, pepper and a liquid dishwashing soap. Put water in the bowl and sprinkle pepper liberally on top of the water. Put a drop of dishwashing liquid on a Q-tip. Touch the Q-tip to the pepper and watch it scatter.

Source: Easy Science Experiments by Diane Molleson and Sarah Savage, Scholastic, Inc., New York