Do Try this at Home…

A HOMEMADE LAVA LAMP

This lava lamp is short-lived but pretty magical.

You’ll need:
• A glass
• Vegetable oil
• Water
• A bright food colouring
(e.g. red or green)
• An Alka-Seltzer tablet

What to do:
1. Fill the glass to about
halfway with vegetable oil.
2. Add around a fifth of a
glass of water.
3. Add around 10 drops
of food colouring.
4. Drop in the Alka-Seltzer
tablet and watch the
marvel unfold.

Why it works
The oil floats on the water. When you drop the tablet in, it reacts with the water to make carbon dioxide bubbles. They carry the coloured water to the top, before popping and sinking back down.

COLOUR CHANGING FLOWERS

This one requires a bit of patience but minimum effort.

You’ll need:
• White flowers
(ideally largish ones, rather
than daisies)
• Glass jars or drinking glasses
• Food colourings
(ideally at least three di erent
ones)
• Water

What to do:
1. Fill each jar half-full with water.
2. Add at least 10 drops of food colouring to each jar, so each one has different
coloured water.
3. Cut each flower stem diagonally and pop one flower in each jar.
4. Check on the flowers every hour. Within 12 hours, they’ll have turned from white to the colour of the water.

Why it works:
The flowers ‘drink’ the water and
move it to the petals.

RUNAWAY MILK

Don’t worry, this is a lot less
messy than it sounds.

You’ll need:
• A plate or a wide, shallow bowl
• Full fat milk
• Food colouring (ideally three different colours)
• Washing-up liquid

What to do:
1. Pour some milk into the plate. (You only need it to be around
a centimetre deep.)
2. Add a few drops of food colouring in different areas. Not too many, there should be large gaps between each one.
3. Dip a finger in the washing-up liquid and then touch one of the spots of food colouring.
4. Repeat with other spots of food colouring.
5. The colour will swirl away from your touch.

Why it works:
The milk and washing-up liquid can’t mix. What you’re seeing is the fat particles swirling away from the washing-up liquid.