Make your own lava lamp

Making your own lava lamp is so easy and a lot of fun. I've seen lots of blog posts about this out there (here for example) so I thought I'd give it a try.

What you need:

1. A clear plastic bottle
2. Oil
3. Water
4. Food coloring
5. Alka-Seltzer- I got a generic kind at the dollar store.

Total cost: $1

Poor oil into the bottle until the bottle is about half way full. Fill with water the rest of the way. I would leave about an inch of space at the top. Add a few drops of food coloring. Do not shake. (I made this mistake and had to start over). Break a tablet of Alka-Seltzer into about 4 pieces. Drop them in one at a time.

This would be a great activity for kids a bit older than mine. When they get older we can talk about the science behind this experiment (such as water soluble vs. water insoluble substances and how they react with each other).

When I showed my two year old, she said "Oh goodness! Oh goodness!" but then lost interest. My 9 month old couldn't have cared less. It wasn't really for her anyway.

Maybe next time.

Jenn