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Exploding glow-in-the-dark art!

10/18/2015

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Picture
https://thedressingroommelbourne.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/glowart_large.jpg
A while back, we experimented with baking soda and vinegar to make exploding sandwich bags! If you missed this experiment, check it out here: http://discoveryexpress.weebly.com/homeblog/experimenting-with-eggs-acid-base-reactions-and-osmosis. 


The focus of this activity was learning about acid-base reactions. Vinegar is an acid; baking soda is a base. When you mix the two together, they react and create carbon dioxide gas. When that reaction is contained in a zip-locked plastic bag, the gas that is being created continues to expand and pushes against the walls of the bag until POP! The bag explodes! 


Today, we are going to try a similar activity with a little twist. Instead of just using baking soda and vinegar, we are going to use glow-in-the-dark vinegar to create super cool glowing paint bombs! When the paint bombs explode over your paper, you’ll be left with awesome glowing paint-splatter art! This would be a great activity for a Halloween party! 


For a quick explanation of acid-base reactions, check out this link: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/chemical/acidbase.html


Want an even more in-depth explanation? Check out this Crash Course video: ​
Picture
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rgXHT9l4f7I/T1aXzeZZKuI/AAAAAAAADPw/wm5Lt8rPC9g/s1600/IMG_9015.JPG
Why do things glow in the dark? Learn more here: http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-do-things-glow-in-the-dark.


YOU WILL NEED
  • Glow-in-the-dark paint
  • Vinegar
  • Baking soda
  • Plastic zip-lock bags
  • Toilet paper squares
  • Poster board


Here’s what to do! 
  1. First of all, we recommend you do this activity outside, because it will get a little messy! Before you can create your exploding paint bombs, you need to concoct the glow-in-the-dark vinegar. Add one cup of vinegar and one tablespoon of glow-in-the-dark paint to a mixing bowl. Glow-in-dark paint is available at craft stores or on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/DecoArt-DS50-3-Glow-in-the-Dark-Paint-2-Ounce/dp/B001B2P498/ref=sr_1_8?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1445224020&sr=1-8&keywords=glow+in+the+dark+paint). Stir the two ingredients together until they are fully blended. Use separate containers to mix other colors of glow-in-the-dark vinegar. You could also use fluorescent paint to create even more colors: (http://www.amazon.com/Color-Black-light-Fluorescent-Acrylic/dp/B00E1P4BRS/ref=sr_1_7?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1445224020&sr=1-7&keywords=glow+in+the+dark+paint). 
  2. Once your glow-in-the-dark vinegar is mixed, dump it into a plastic zip-lock bag and seal the bag shut. Set the bag aside. 
  3. Place the poster board on the ground. Get ready to create some glow-in-the-dark splatter art!
  4. Next, you need to create your baking soda reactor. Sprinkle a tablespoon of baking soda onto the center of one square of toilet paper. Fold the edges inward so you have a toilet-paper ball with baking soda in the center. 
  5. Pick up your plastic bag full of glowing vinegar and open it up. This is the toughest part, because you will need to move quickly! Carefully drop the baking soda reactor into the plastic bag full of glowing vinegar and quickly seal the bag shut. Place the bag on the poster board and watch what happens! 
  6. The bag will expand as vinegar and baking soda react. That carbon dioxide gas will eventually cause the bag to EXPLODE! into beautiful glow-in-the-dark art! 
  7. Repeat steps 1-6 with different colors of glow-in-the-dark vinegar to add more colors to your artwork. After you’re done, shut the lights off to see what you’ve created! 


Extension: Time how long it takes for your glow-in-the-dark paint bomb to explode. Adjust the levels of vinegar or baking soda and time again. Does more vinegar or more baking soda affect the time it takes the paint bombs to explode? 


References:
http://www.growingajeweledrose.com/2013/09/glowing-exploding-art.html
http://www.growingajeweledrose.com/2013/09/homemade-glow-in-dark-vinegar.html
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Lava lamp in a cup! 

10/4/2015

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Author: Maddie Van Beek

A few weeks ago, we showed you how to make a homemade lava lamp. This is a simpler way to create a lava-like appearance in a cup. If you missed our last lava lamp blog, check it out here: http://discoveryexpress.weebly.com/homeblog/make-your-own-lava-lamp

Picture
https://contentequalsmoney.com/wp-content/uploads/media/2013/09/lava-lamp.jpg
How do real lava lamps actually work? 




Key words:

  • Insoluble
  • Density
  • Heat absorption 
  • Dissipation



Look up the definitions for the key words at dictionary.com prior to reading about liquid motion lamps (lava lamps). 




Why don’t oil and water mix?

More about density: http://discoveryexpress.weebly.com/homeblog/rainbow-in-a-jar-learning-about-liquid-density




Check this link for an explanation of how traditional lava lamps work: http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/science-questions/question36.htm




Follow-up questions:

  1. How many liquids are in a lava lamp? 
  2. What qualities do these liquids need to have? 
  3. Why do liquid motion lamps need heat? 
  4. When heat is applied to a liquid motion lamp, what happens to the heavier liquid? 



Last time you made a lava lamp, you added Alka-seltzer to your mixture of oil and water. The Alka-seltzer reacted with the water and produced carbon dioxide gas, which then created bubbles of water that floated to the top through the oil and burst, causing the water to sink back down (since water is a denser liquid than oil, it will always sink back below the oil). This created the illusion of a traditional lava lamp, or liquid motion lamp, which you already know uses heat to alter the densities of the two liquids in the lamp. 




Once again, you are going to create an altered version of a lava lamp. This time, you will not be using carbon dioxide gas to create the illusion of lava, but instead will use salt. Salt? How would salt help you create a lava lamp? Let’s find out! 

Picture
http://www.123playandlearn.com/uploads/4/3/8/5/4385398/8948433_orig.png
YOU WILL NEED:

  • A clear glass
  • Vegetable oil
  • Water
  • Food coloring
  • Salt



Here’s what to do!

  1. Pour half a cup of water into the clear glass. 
  2. Add half a cup of oil to the glass of water. 
  3. Squeeze about 10 drops of food coloring into the oil/water mixture. What happens? Write down your observations. Is the oil colored? How about the water? Why do you think this happened? Draw a picture of what your glass looks like right now. Use a marker to illustrate where the colored liquid is. 
  4. Now for the fun part! Sprinkle about a teaspoon of salt on top of the oil in the glass. The lava action begins! Watch what happens and record your observations. 
  5. Why did salt cause the oil in the glass to sink? Salt is heavier than oil. When you add salt to the glass, it sinks through the oil but causes some of the oil to sink below the surface of the water with the salt. Once the salt dissolves in the water, the oil that was  attached to the salt floats back up to the surface of the water where it should be. 
  6. Once the “lava” stops moving, sprinkle more salt into your glass to keep your lava in a cup going strong! 
  7. Experiment with different levels of salt, water, or oil. How does this affect how well the lava functions? 






References:

http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/science-questions/question36.htm

https://sciencebob.com/try-some-lava-in-a-cup/

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