Elephant Toothpaste – Fun Kids Science Experiment

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Tired of the same old baking soda and vinegar science experiment?  Here is a cute experiment for making elephant toothpaste that makes lots of colored foam and is fun for kids. It uses stuff you probably have sitting around the house anyway, and while it is not as explosively fast as baking soda and vinegar it produces quite a bit of colored foam.

elephant toothpaste

 

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The experiment is a decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, which is a chemical reaction that normally occurs very slowly.  To make it more exciting yeast is used as a catalyst which speeds up the reaction.  I used standard drug store hydrogen peroxide, which is a 3% solution.  You can also buy a 6% solution of hydrogen peroxide at some beauty supply stores, and get an even faster reaction.  But if you are going to do that you need to use gloves and safety goggles, so I decided to keep my experiment more low key.

Here is short version showing the results, and you can see a longer video of the full experiment at the end of the post.

Here is how to make the Elephant Toothpaste:

Supplies:

  • Empty soda bottle
  • measuring cup
  • packet of yeast
  • warm water
  • 1/2 c. hydrogen peroxide (3%)
  • 1/4 c. dish soap
  • food coloring

Directions:

  1. Mix the yeast in a small amount of warm water and set it aside to start dissolving.
  2. Add the hydrogen peroxide, dish soap and food coloring to the soda bottle and swirl to mix.
  3. Add the dissolved yeast and sit back to watch the foam.
  4. Clean up the mess.

Supplies for Making Elephant Toothpaste

This is a fun science experiment for the end of the school year!

anne

Hi, I’m Anne!

I love to cook and I want to share my recipes with you. I believe cooking should be approachable and fun, not a chore. I want to make simple recipes using everyday ingredients that you can make again and again, whether it is for a busy weeknight, a summer cookout or a special dessert. Read more...

7 thoughts on “Elephant Toothpaste – Fun Kids Science Experiment”

  1. How cute this is my elephant clamped his mouth shut when we told him we were making elephant toothpaste, seriously, I think any of these projects that children can do gets them interested in science and why things happen and works, my granddaughters are home schooled and I shared this with my daughter in law, she said maybe they will try it.. LOL thank you for sharing

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