Saturday, May 31, 2025
Have you seen a soda fizz? Did you know that the fizzing is called effervescence, and it can be caused by a chemical reaction? In this chemical engineering session, we will explore chemical reactions and effervescence, and use our findings to fuel a chemistry-powered car!
Time
Ages 7-12: 8 am PT • 9 am MT • 10 am CT • 11 am ET • 12 pm AT
Ages 13-17: 10 am PT • 11 am MT • 12 pm CT • 1 pm ET • 2 pm AT
Materials and Preparation
- Empty plastic bottle with cap
- 2 straws (paper or plastic)
- 2 x 10 inch Bamboo skewers
- Glue: Hot glue gun, craft glue, super glue
- Duct tape
- 4 plastic beads (the bamboo skewer should fit through the bead)
- 4 identical plastic caps (larger size works better, i.e. Gatorade)
- Something to crush the alka seltzer tablets (mortar and pestle, can, etc)
- Tissue paper
- Scissors
- 3 cups
- 5 alka seltzer tablets
- ~1 cup milk or non-dairy alternative
- >3 cups water
- ~1 cup white vinegar
Meet the Expert
This programming was developed by Sydney Brooks and Dilpreet Kaur
