Science is a lot of fun. It’s not just about memorizing facts and figures, it’s about learning how to ask the right questions and finding answers to them.
Get Creative with Kids: Fun and Easy Lava Lamp Craft Kit
11 Lava Lamp Craft For Kids
The best way to learn science is through hands-on experimentation with everyday materials. And what better way for kids to experiment than with something as fun as lava lamps? What are you waiting for? Make a lava lamp today!
Ice Cube Painting
Now that you know the basics of how to make a lava lamp, it’s time to get creative with the design. You can use any size of ice cube tray (some even come with larger trays that work great for this project).
You’ll also need some paint, water and a paint brush
Here are your instructions:
Fill each compartment of the tray with water until they are about 3/4 full. Then add some food coloring or liquid watercolor to each compartment. Add enough color so that when you shake up your tray it will mix together well! Don’t put too much in though—you want your lava lamp to be clear enough so that you can see all those awesome layers!
Place your tray into the freezer overnight or at least 2 hours before painting on it (you don’t want any part of this activity moving quickly!). When ready, gently remove from the freezer and place it on something flat like an old cookie sheet or cutting board so as not to spill anything while painting over every square inch!
Lava Lamp in a Bottle
The lava lamp in a bottle is a fun science experiment for kids. It’s also easy to make, so it’s perfect if you’re looking for something quick and simple to do with your kids.
For this project you’ll need.
- A clear plastic bottle (like an old water bottle)
- Vegetable oil (or other liquid that will mix with water)
- Food coloring or Kool-Aid powder, depending on which color you want your lava lamp to be!
If you don’t have any of these things on hand, don’t worry! You can easily find them at any store or online shop. To start making a lava lamp in a bottle:
DIY Glitter Slime
Slime is a crazy, colorful, gooey substance that kids love to play with.
If you have little ones at home and want to get them excited about science, this is a great way to do it! It’s also easy enough for an adult to manage if the kids are too young or uninterested in the process.
This slime recipe uses borax as its main ingredient (which you can buy at any grocery store). Borax reacts with water to form polymers that make it super stretchy and sticky… kind of like rubber bands!
Baking Soda and Vinegar Volcano
You will need
- 1 cup baking soda
- ½ cup vinegar (white, apple cider or white distilled)
- large bowl or pan for mixing and pouring
The first step is to mix the baking soda and vinegar together. You might want to use rubber gloves so that your hands don’t get stained from the chemicals.
When you mix them together they will begin emitting fizzing and bubbling sounds as they react with each other’s acidity levels. After a few minutes of this reaction, you can pour your lava lamp into its container and enjoy!
Tin Can Volcano
Let’s make a lava lamp!
A volcano is a mountain that erupts because of heat and pressure from the earth below it. The lava from volcanoes comes out of cracks at the top of the mountain and cools as it hits air, forming rocks called lava.
Volcanoes can be very dangerous for people living in their area. Volcanic ash is toxic when breathed in and can cause sickness or death if there are enough eruptions for long periods of time (like Mt. St Helens), so it’s important to stay away from them until they stop erupting!
Lava lamps work by heating up oil with electricity until it becomes liquid, then placing this heated liquid into water which cools down its temperature back down again but keeps it fluid enough to move around freely inside an enclosed chamber lined with wax crystals called “a” “floating” “ballast”.
Add Alka Seltzer to Hot Water & Food Coloring
- Add 2 tablespoons of water to a plastic cup.
- Add 1 tablespoon of hot water to the cup and stir until it turns clear.
- Add 1 drop of red food coloring, 5 drops or so, depending on how intense you want your lava lamp to be.
Crush an Alka Seltzer tablet in your hand (make sure there are no sharp edges!) or use some sandpaper for a rough surface, then place it into the cup and let it settle at the bottom of the cup so it won’t float up when you add more ingredients.
Homemade Cloud Dough
Cloud dough is a non-toxic, sensory-friendly alternative to playdough for children with allergies. It’s made from just flour and water!
To make cloud dough:
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add 1 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of cold water. Whisk the mixture together until it becomes smooth. Add more flour if needed to create a paste consistency (the thicker you want your dough, the more flour will be added).
Remove saucepan from heat and allow mixture to cool completely before adding food coloring or glitter (both optional). Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three months or until color fades out of interest.*
DIY Vinegar and Oil Rainbow
- what you will need
- how to make it
- what you will see
- how long it takes
- how to store it
- how to clean it up
Homemade Bowling Pins
- Bowling Pins
Use straws and tape to make bowling pins. A fun way to do this is by cutting the straws in half, rolling them up and taping them together. You can also use paper towel rolls or tennis balls. If you have plastic bottles, they work well too! Just cut the bottom off and tape it back on so that it’s flat on both ends (like a bowling pin).
- Bowling Ball
Tape a ping pong ball onto a paper towel roll with duct tape so that it looks like an actual bowling ball. Add some stickers for decoration if you’d like!
Color Changing Milk Science Experiment
The name of the project is Color Changing Milk Science Experiment.
What you need.
- A cup or bowl with a lid
- White milk (you can also use chocolate milk if you want it to be more colorful)
Food coloring in different colors/colors of your choice — preferably gel food coloring, so that they don’t stain and are easier to clean up if you spill some on the table or floor.
If using liquid food coloring, make sure there’s just enough water in it so that when the color gets mixed into your white milk, it doesn’t become too thin and runny.
Homemade Bubble Snakes
Bubble snakes are fun to make and play with. You can use a variety of liquids to make them, including glycerin and dishwashing liquid.
It’s also very easy to make bubble snakes. And finally, bubble snakes are a great way to spend time with your kids!
You’ll need
- Water in a shallow bowl (like an ice cube tray) or other container
- A funnel or plastic soda bottle cap
- A long straw – cut off either end so it fits in the top of your bottle or container but still has some length sticking out
Science Is Fun.
Your kids will love these lava lamp crafts because they’re not only fun to make, but they also teach them about science in a way that’s easy for them to understand.
Lava lamps are great because they show how physical and chemical properties can create cool effects. A bubble-blowing lava lamp set includes everything you need for this project: a bottle of soap solution, colored water or food coloring, oil, and a small plastic cup with a hole punched in the bottom.
You’ll also need some straws to blow bubbles into the lava lamp. To start off with your mini-lava lamp experiment, fill up the bottle halfway with warm water (not hot). Add 2 tablespoons of dish soap or about 7 teaspoons of hand soap until it makes some bubbles. Then add 5 tablespoons vegetable oil until it looks like this:
Now comes the fun part! Cut open one end of the squeeze bottle so that you have access to its contents without spilling any everywhere (this may require adult supervision).
Squeeze out some colored water onto whatever surface you’re working on—a cookie sheet works best as long as there’s enough space between each drop so that they don’t mix together too quickly before drying—and watch as those drops roll down their sides as if being pulled by magnets! What does this mean? It means that surface tension is happening here…and we want our lava lamps to do something similar!
Conclusion
We hope you’ve enjoyed these fun lava lamp craft projects. Our favorite was the ice cube pa try out all of these activities!inting, but we can’t wait to
