Build Your Own Lava Lamps

Add about 8 to 10 drops of food coloring.

Build your own lava lamps.

It will sink slowly beneath the oil layer creating lots of bubbles. First fill the empty water bottle about 2 3 full with vegetable oil. Density is the measurement of how compact a substance is how much of it fits in a certain amount of space. Children should show an adult these instructions and ask for help and not attempt this on their own.

You can also add some glitter for some extra bling. Oil and water just do not mix. Then add water until there s around an inch remaining at the top. Fill the bottle two thirds full of oil.

As the reaction slows down simply add more alka seltzer. Make this lamp only with adult supervision. This is a safe and fun science experiment you can do at home or in a classroom. Remember that the colors will blend together so be careful of your mix.

How to make the lava lamp. Easy to make lava lamp science experiment. Commercial lava lamps use a proprietary combination of melted waxes. Watch what happens to the water with your kids.

What you will need to make your lava lamp science experiment is in this picture. A few minutes is usually a good time to leave the inked felt in the alcohol. Fill the rest with water leaving a little of space at the top. Lava lamp science project.

Lava lamps are both mesmerising and beautiful to look at and in this daily dose we re going to make our own. The oil floats on the surface because the water is heavier has a higher density than oil. Notice that the water sinks below the vegetable oil. The alcohol and oil used in this lamp are flammable and must be treated with care when heating them to get the lava moving.

Leaving it in longer will give a darker color but will also increase the tendency to bleed into the brine. Break open an oil soluble marker or pen and place the inked felt into a container of benzyl alcohol. I just made two different lava lamps using one color for each bottle. Make an alka seltzer powered lava lamp from science buddies make your own lava lamp from science buddies create underwater fireworks with chemistry from scientific american.

Watch your lava lamp erupt into activity. Make your own lava lamp. When the bubbles have stopped dribble a couple drops of food coloring into the bottle. A lava lamp works because of two different scientific principles density and polarity.

The food coloring droplets will fall through the oil and rest on top of the water.