Let's Play Today! -by Auntie J: Fizzy Fun Week Favorite!

Fizzy Fun Week Favorite

Last week, we melted ice with salt. This week, we're focusing on acids and bases with vinegar and baking soda. So yesterday, we played with colored vinegar ice cubes and baking soda. I honestly had no idea what would happen - assumed as the ice cubes melted that it would fizz. What I didn't know was that this was going to turned out better than I planned, thanks to these special little girls and their wonderful ideas.

Here we go ...

I started by filling a large container with baking soda. The girls enjoyed making shapes and writing letters with their fingers.

Here are the vinegar ice cubes:

I explained that the ice cubes were not made of colored water, but vinegar (we could sure smell it) like the vinegar they dropped their baking soda rocks into earlier this week. I asked them what happened when vinegar and baking soda mix, and they said it bubbles. I asked what they thought would happen if they sprinkled baking soda on the vinegar cubes. They weren't sure, so I explained that when the ice cubes melted, it should bubble. In all honesty, I was not sure if it would work as planned.

They immediately grabbed the colors they wanted and arranged them just the way they wanted them to be. Then, they started sprinkling baking soda on them.

I love how Miss S made a flower when she was drawing with her finger in the baking soda, and then she made one with her yellow cubes.

It was interesting, the way the baking soda fizzed. However, the girls weren't so amused as it was slow-acting. I was starting to wonder what more we could do.

While talking to Miss I about what she was feeling with her hands, she explained that it was cold. She and S really enjoyed our warm water and ice cube activity, so she asked if we could have some warm water in there. BRILLIANT! Listen to kids; they have fantastic ideas! It may not have been what she had in mind specifically, but I filled up two squirt bottles with very warm water and let them spray away. I figured this would help melt the ice cubes and create the WOW I was looking for with this.

Here they go!

Here is a before, and after an initial spray. They were in awe - the ice cubes were moving as the bubbling and fizzing took place - we were finally having the chemical reaction we wanted, and I was happy to see the girls having fun:)

The moving ice cubes were pretty neat. You can see how much I's moved (top blue cubes). As soon as S's started moving, she wanted to grab them and move them around herself.