Chemistry Experiments

Is your child fond of doing chemical experiments? It would be best if you nurtured her talent well because she has all the elements in her that can make her shine in this subject. Chemistry is one of the coolest branches in science, and it helps an individual experiment with a lot of things. This is a major reason why small kids love the subject when it is introduced to them. They get the utmost pleasure by performing a simple chemical experiment.
This article will help parents and teachers with some excellent ideas of chemical experiments that they can try for encouraging small ones. All these experiments are easy to perform, and they can make a student fall in love with science in a day. Therefore, go through the procedures for conducting these chemistry experiments and boost your students’ hidden talents.

1. Preparing Elephant Toothpaste

This is one of the most amazing chemical reaction experiments for kids that can fill them with joy. To perform this experiment, they will have to mix peroxide and potassium iodide. The mixture will pour out a column of foam that is called the elephant toothpaste for fun.

Children can add some colors to the mixture according to their wish and see the magic. This will help them prepare the toothpaste off their favorite colors and customize it perfectly. Children above six years of age can try this experiment, however, under an adult’s surveillance.

2. Mixing Copper and Nitric Acid

If a piece of copper is added to the solution of nitric acid, the colorless solution of the latter will turn into a colored solution. The solution turns green at first and then greenish-brown. This happens since the copper (Cu++) ions and the nitrate ions react to change the colorless solution green.
Furthermore, if the solution is diluted by adding water, the latter displaces the nitrate ions, and the copper ion changes the solution to blue color. In this kid's chemical experiment, they will witness three color changes in the same nitric acid solution.

3. Thermite Reaction

The thermite reaction shows the changes taking place in iron after it is rusted instantly. This is one of the most simple chem experiments that kids love performing. Here, the metal is burnt in a controlled environment to find out the result.
Iron oxide and aluminum react to generate heat and light. Students can place the above mixture within a block of dry ice to witness the amazing output. The light emitted from the experiment looks great, and children are highly amused by seeing it.

4. Mixing Any Alkali Metal with Water

All alkali metals are highly reactive in water, and they make for fun chemistry experiments. Metals like sodium, potassium, magnesium, lithium, etc., react with water to emit bright lights that look spectacular. For instance, sodium emits bright yellow light when burnt in water, lithium emits red colour, potassium emits violet light, etc.

However, cesium explodes vigorously when added to water. Under the guidance of an expert, children can experiment with all the alkali metals on the periodic table and explore the differences.

5. Preparing Polymer Bouncy Balls

Small polymer bouncy balls look fascinating, and a child will love creating them. This experiment can be done at home by mixing the required chemicals in an accurate measurement. One can also change the properties of these balls by altering the ratios of the raw materials. This can be a fun experiment that children will love doing since they can create something new.

6. Producing Colored Fire

Making colored fire is one of the cool chemistry experiments that kids can try easily. This experiment can be performed by heating ions in a high flame. Electrons present in the ions get excited when the latter is heated. There is a drop in the energy level of the ions that lead to the emission of photons.
These photons have various energy levels that emit colorful flame-forming colored fire. This experiment holds a special place in analytical chemistry since the color of the flame has a specific indication.

7. Preparing Hot Ice

Sodium acetate is also called hot ice and is easy to prepare at home. If vinegar is added to baking soda, sodium acetate is formed that can crystallize to form ice. This compound is called ‘hot ice’ since it emits heat while crystalizing. Thus, sodium acetate resembles cold ice but is hot in nature. This is one of the household chemical reactions that students can perform by mixing chemical compounds available at home.

8.Making Electrical Trees

Electrical trees or Lichtenberg figures look amazing and can be created by kids at home. This figure marks the path taken by electrons when electrostatic discharge takes place. The experiment is also called frozen lightning and can be performed in numerous ways. Students can perform this ‘do it yourself or DIY chemistry experiment at home with an expert’s help and take everyone by surprise.

9. Dehydrating Sugar

Sugar articles get dehydrated instantly when sulphuric acid is added to them. This gives rise to a column of carbon black and emits the smell of burnt caramel. The reaction looks simple, but students should be careful while handling sulphuric acid since it is highly corrosive. They can perform this experiment with two ingredients, sugar and sulphuric acid, and do not need much apparatus.

10. Preparing Waterproof Sand

Sand, when mixed with a waterproof compound, becomes resistant to water. Therefore, it will remain usable even if it comes in contact with water. The sand particles remain dry and become hydrophobic or a substance that repels water. This is one of the most innovative chemical experiments for students to try since they will not need too many raw materials. Besides, the result created will be of great use, and thus, they will get the utmost pleasure from this chemical activity.

Final Words

Parents and teachers should motivate kids to perform more of these middle school chemistry experiments at home and in the school lab. These experiments will increase their interest in the subject and help them dedicate their time to something productive.