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