HomeSchool
Back to all activities
Weekend · Science

Elephant toothpaste — safe, dramatic, unforgettable

Foam erupts out of a bottle for ten full seconds. Their reaction is the point.

30 min ages 612· Outdoor· Screen-free

How to do it

Outside, on a tarp or driveway. In a clean empty water bottle: 1/2 cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide (drugstore — for higher %, ask the pharmacist), squirt of dish soap, food coloring, swirl gently. In a small cup: one packet of dry yeast dissolved in 3 tablespoons of warm water, stirred for 30 seconds. Pour the yeast into the bottle quickly and step back. Erupting foam — warm to the touch (exothermic). Talk about what happened: the yeast acted as a catalyst, breaking peroxide rapidly into water + oxygen, the soap captured the gas as foam. Run it again with different food coloring.

What you'll need

  • Hydrogen peroxide 3%

    Amazon
  • Active dry yeast

    Amazon
  • Dish soap

    Free
  • Food coloring

    Amazon
  • Empty plastic bottle

    Free
Get everything ready

Opens Amazon with everything pre-loaded in your cart.