Frozen Fizzy Cubes

Lately we have been doing so many activities using frozen baking soda. We used it in our Arctic Small World and Frozen Dinosaur Excavation Sensory Bin many times over the past two weeks. But neither of those activities were colourful! And Bean just loves combining colours and mixing them up, so we tried this...

I filled an ice cube try with wet baking soda and added a drop of food colouring to the top of each cube. I stirred it slightly so the top layer was coloured. A little food colouring goes a long way, so I wasn't concerned about mixing the colour into the whole cube. This way the colours would blend slowly as they melted and fizzed. Once these were finished freezing I popped them out into a glass pan and handed the kids a spray bottle of vinegar. 

Bean started spraying immediately and was so excited when the cubes began fizzing. Baking soda and vinegar make a simple science experiment that most kids love. Because the baking soda was frozen (and the water mixed into it probably helped too) it took longer to break down each cube. On a hot sunny day, this was a perfect activity that kept them busy and cool for about an hour.

They took turns spraying and enjoyed exploring the cold cubes, touched the fizzing bubbles, crumbled the baking soda between their fingers and swirling the colours together.

While Munchkin waited for his turn, he enjoyed picking up the cubes and dropping them into the pan.

Bean is always fascinated by the effects vinegar has on baking soda. She always looks really closely at the fizzing bubbles. She even smells and tastes them!

Munchkin had to smell the bubbles too. :)

Squirting with spray bottles help strengthen your hands and provide so much fun for this fine motor activity.

Different clumps of cubes produced different colours when they swirled together. Munchkin really liked the blue swirls.

Bean added a paintbrush and Munchkin added a few open-mouthed dinosaurs. He used them to scoop up the sludge and pour it back out, usually on another dinosaur.

He also linked them together and lined them up while he waited for his turn. Bean was so fascinated with the feeling of the bubbles fizzing on her hands and that kept her occupied for a while.

This orange and green puddle was Bean's favourite and she gradually mixed in the purple.

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Please always supervise your children while playing and never leave them unattended.