Experiments with KVRR Meteorologist Scott Sincoff: Lava Lamps

Fun, Easy, Kid-Friendly Science Experiments

This week, Meteorologist Scott Sincoff created his own lava lamp with Concordia Science Academy Coordinator, Dr. Graeme Wyllie.

What You Need:

• Cooking Oil
• Water
• A Tall  Clear Glass or cylinder
• Food Coloring
• Half of an Alka-Seltzer Tablet

How to Make Your Own Lava Lamp:

Put water in the tall glass or cylinder, and fill it about a quarter-way up. Put a couple of drops of food coloring in the water and give it a shake. Fill the the tall glass or cylinder with the cooking oil almost to the top but make sure to leave room for bubbles at the top. Drop a half of an Alka-Seltzer tablet in the glass and watch the oil and water move around to create your own lava lamp at home.

Further Experiments:

The experiment can be repeated by adding another half of an Alka-Seltzer tablet but  why not find what happens if you add a different color of food color to the top and run it again?

Why not try changing the amounts of water and oil and see what effect that has.

The rate of a reaction is very important in science – time your reaction by working out how long it takes a bubble to go from the bottom to the top of the liquid.

Don’t forget to take pictures or video of this awesome and colorful science experiment.