bicarb soda and vinegar experiment for toddlers

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Happy Hooligans

Crafts and Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers to Tweens

Fizzing Colours! A Baking Soda and Vinegar Experiment for Preschoolers

Last updated on February 18, 2021

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Toddlers and preschoolers will love this classic baking soda and vinegar experiment . They’ll ooh and ahh over the colourful chemical reactions they’ll create with just 3 kitchen ingredients!

A baking soda and vinegar experiment is one of those classic science experiments  that always fascinates. It’s perfect for the classroom or for a day at home when your kids are bored.

Your children will love the colourful, bubbling eruptions that result when baking soda and vinegar are combined.

This experiment is easy and inexpensive to set up so you can do it over and over, whenever you need a quick and easy activity to entertain your kids.

In addition to being fun and entertaining, this activity is educational too. You’ll have an opportunity to discuss colour, colour mixing  and chemical reactions.

To do our colourful baking soda and vinegar experiment, you’ll need:

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• box of baking soda (also known as bicarb soda)
• small bowl of white vinegar

• food colouring or liquid watercolours
• baking sheet  or a messy craft mat

We did several science activities yesterday, and according to the hooligan you see in the photo above, this was the best “spare-a-mint” of the day.

I’m guessing it’s because it had the goopiest results for her to dig her hands into.  This little one just loves getting messy when she plays.

The Experiment:

We began by sprinkling baking soda all over the baking sheet.  Then we shook the baking sheet back and forth to evenly distribute the baking soda.

Next, using food colouring and liquid watercolours, we squeezed drops of colour all over the baking soda.

And now for the fun part:

A drop of vinegar dripped on top of a drop food colouring.

FIZZ, FIZZ, BUBBLE, BUBBLE!

I wish I’d snapped a picture of her face when the first eruption took place. Her expression was one of pure delight and amazement.

Then she began dripping vinegar onto all of the colours on the tray, watching and listening to each one bubble and fizz.

Using a dropper is great for helping to develop fine-motor skills, pencil grasp and co-ordination.

At one point, I gave her a spray bottle of vinegar so she could spray the baking soda as well.

A spray bottle is great for strengthening muscles and co-ordination in little hands. It was a lot of fun to use but we found that the dropper gave us a more intense reaction.

As the colours erupt on the baking sheet, you can explain  why baking soda and vinegar react the way they do when combined .

We also discussed primary and secondary colours. I would say “Look!  We have purple happening here!  Which two colours mixed together to make purple?”

She dripped and she dropped until the tray was a collage of colourful craters.

And then, as I suspected she put down her dropper, and sunk her hands into the results of our experiment.

What a lovely way to finish up the activity, sliding and swishing her hands through a soft and soupy rainbow of colour.

I hope you’ll try this baking soda and vinegar experiment with your kids or students!

And stay tuned…  I’ll be sharing more of yesterday’s science activities throughout the week.

Looking for more awesome science activities for kids?

You’ll find all of my easy science activities for toddlers and preschoolers here!

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Jackie is a mom, wife, home daycare provider, and the creative spirit behind Happy Hooligans. She specializes in kids’ crafts and activities, easy recipes, and parenting. She began blogging in 2011, and today, Happy Hooligans inspires more than 2 million parents, caregivers and Early Years Professionals all over the globe.

Reader Interactions

February 20, 2016 at 11:20 pm

Great activity! I have tried this with my preschoolers and it keeps them fully engaged for long periods of time. Love your photos 🙂

May 19, 2016 at 8:53 pm

This may be a silly question, but do you mix the food colouring with water, or just drop on pure food colouring?

happyhooligans

May 20, 2016 at 6:57 am

We used ours full-strength, Sasha.

December 13, 2017 at 12:07 am

There is one sentence that looks like it might have been the victim of an incomplete edit. “A drop of vinegar dripped on top one of a drop food colouring”

May 16, 2020 at 3:59 pm

Can I use red vinegar instead of white vinegar?

Jackie Currie

May 17, 2020 at 10:50 am

I imagine it would work, Alina. Sprinkle a little baking soda on a plate and drip some red vinegar on it. If it fizzes, you’re good to go.

February 17, 2022 at 6:01 am

Hi! I am planning on doing this with my preschoolers too but just wondering what the clean up process is? Did you throw the baking soda in the garbage after?

March 23, 2022 at 2:55 pm

I pour it down the drain Camille. Baking soda and vinegar are commonly used to flush kitchen drains.

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10+ Fun and Easy Baking Soda and Vinegar Experiments

They explode, they erupt, they are messy and boy are they fun! What could cause so much excitement? That’s right, baking soda and vinegar experiments. Go beyond the old baking soda and vinegar volcanoes and discover a world of new experiments to thrill your kids!

Chemistry for Kids – Sodium Bicarbonate and Vinegar Reactions

What you will discover in this article!

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We love science experiments around here, but, often for my own sanity, we keep things easy, by just playing with variations of our favourite physics or chemistry reactions. One of our all time favourites is the simple baking soda and vinegar experiments.

Immediately, I am sure you are thinking of the old fashion Baking Soda and Vinegar Volcanoes we all built as children. We love that experiment too, but you can do lots of other things with this awesome reaction that don’t involve a whole lot of paper mache construction.

A quick note for those not in North American. Baking Soda is also known as Sodium Bicarbonate in many parts of the world.

The Science

These activities explore the popular baking soda and vinegar reaction, which is a simple acid-base chemical reaction. Vinegar or Acetic Acid has the chemical formula CH 3 COOH. Baking Soda, is a base also known as Sodium Bicarbonate or Sodium Bicarb, has the chemical formula ‎NaHCO 3 . During this reaction the products are sodium acetate (CH 3 COONa). Sodium acetate is made of 1 sodium ion, 2 carbon atoms, 3 hydrogen atoms, and 2 oxygen atoms. The other products are water (H 2 O) and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). Carbon dioxide is the gas that causes the bubbling during the reaction.

Here is the chemical formula of this reaction

CH 3 COOH (l) + NaHCO 3 (s) → CH 3 COONa (aq) + H 2 O (l) + CO 2 (g) acetic acid (vinegar) + sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) -> sodium acetate + water + carbon dioxide

Is the reaction endothermic or exothermic?

It takes energy to break the chemical bonds in baking soda and vinegar. When this happens energy is released when the carbon dioxide, sodium acetate, and water are formed. Since more energy was needed to break the baking soda and vinegar apart, the temperature goes down . This is called an endothermic reaction. That means Baking Soda and Vinegar reactions are endothermic.

Now we know the science, let’s dig into some fun experiments!

Here are our top 10 favourite baking soda and vinegar experiments that the kids love doing over and over and over again! The best part, most of these are super easy science experiments. Great for those afternoons when you need a quick, fun project that will appeal to any age.

Measuring Chemical Reactions – Fireworks Experiment

Baking soda and vinegar is the perfect reaction to start learning some basic chemistry principles including how to measure a chemical reaction. In this experiment we have a fun Fireworks inspired reaction (great for July 4th), followed by a deep dive into chemistry as kids learn how to measure a chemical reaction with simple kitchen supplies.

Bottle Rockets

Building Bottle Rockets is such a fun activity for all ages, but especially as a year end celebration or summer camp activity. With this activity we are exploring the pressure and physics caused by a contained baking soda and vinegar reaction. And the results are spectacular!!

Greenhouse Effect Experiment

This powerful experiment demonstrates the heat capturing properties of greenhouse gases. An excellent project to do for Earth Day or as part of a unit study on environmental sciences and climate change. Create the Greenhouse Effect in a jar .

Hatching Dino Eggs

One of our most popular activities with everyone from the very young to the young at heart are these little Dino Eggs. Everyone dreams of hatching their very own dinosaur baby and in this fun activity you make it happen with a fizzy, fun and gorgeous chemical reaction.

Erupting Rainbow Rocks

Erupting rainbow rocks are a gorgeous, colourful science experiment that is so easy to do. Be prepared for lots of squeals of excitement and gasps of wonder as the rainbow of colours magically appear in the fizz!

Erupting Black Hole Science

We love studying space around here, and this is a fantastic activity for your star gazers and aspiring space travelers. Inspired by the first photographs of a black hole, we created this fun and interactive Space STEM Activity – Erupting Black Holes !

Magic Color Changing Oobleck

Imagine changing the colour of something, simply with chemistry. This Colour Changing Oobleck activity was not originally meant to be a baking soda and vinegar reaction, in fact we were simply setting out to test pH. Then we saw those fizzy little reactions as our Oobleck changed colour. Accidental discoveries in science are so much fun!

Baking Soda vs Baking Powder

Got a budding scientist on your hands that wants to run their very own science lab? This is a fantastic activity for kids to put their investigation skills to the test. Make sure you use test tubes and beakers for the best lab experience. Don’t forget the lab coat. Your young scientists will love this investigative activity exploring the differences between baking soda and baking powder .

Balloon Science

Like our bottle rockets, in this activity we are capturing the CO2 gases that result from a baking soda and vinegar reaction. Using our STEM skills we tested different ratios to see how it affects the inflating of our balloons. We have done this experiment for Groundhog Day and Halloween . It is great fun and can be easily adapted for any theme and is super easy to do.

Volcano Slime

After years of failure we finally found success making slime with contact lens solution and baking soda. Well it didn’t take long for the kids to start asking… what would happen if we added vinegar? And our Erupting Volcano Slime was born!

Puking Pumpkin Volcano

Take your fall Halloween celebrations to a new level of “EEEWWWW” with Puking Pumpkin Volcanoes ! This simple activity always delights the kids.

Apple Volcano Experiment

This Apple Volcano is perfect for Back to School and Fall Science. Kids love Apple Science Experiments, and this colorful one is always popular.

Christmas Tree Chemistry

This is a great Christmas STEAM activity , but if you need something for a different time of year, simply switch out your Silicone Molds to change the theme of this activity for any holiday or event. We’ve done it for Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day, Dinosaur themed and more. Kids get to decorate their Christmas Tree then make it erupt in a colourful chemical reaction.

Invisible Ink

Another fun use of acids and bases is to make invisible ink . This is such a fun experiment with big wow moments for kids!

Art from Science Galaxy Project

Combine these incredible chemical reactions with a fun art project in this easy activity that is perfect for STEAM club or to celebrate the night skies. We had so much fun making these Galaxy art prints .

Have a great time exploring the amazing reaction between baking soda and vinegar! Your kids are going to have a blast!

Ready to dig into more Chemistry learning in a fun, interactive way? Try our Periodic Table of Elements BINGO game!

Have fun learning and exploring with chemistry!

5 Days of Smart STEM Ideas for Kids

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Baking Soda and Vinegar Experiment

This classic science experiment is always a favorite activity for kids. And it’s easy to put together too! You only need baking soda, food coloring, water and vinegar. Kids will loving making this fizzy rainbow.

RELATED: Rain Cloud in a Jar

Rainbow Baking Soda and Vinegar Experiment

Kids love doing this easy science experiment. Not only is it a fun activity but it’s a great learning exercise too. They also get to practice fine motor work by using a pipette or dropper.

To save steps, you can also do this experiment by using regular baking soda shaped into a rainbow. Then just add a few drops along the arches of the food coloring.

The Science

What happens when you mix vinegar and baking soda?

You see the bubbling and foaming but what is causing this reaction? The baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is a base while the vinegar (acetic acid) is an acid and what you are seeing is an acid/base reaction. Initially, the reaction makes carbonic acid which is unstable and breaks down into carbon dioxide (CO2) and water which is what creates all of the fizzing and bubbles as the gas leaves the water.

Supplies Needed to do a Baking Soda and Vinegar Experiment

– Baking Soda – we like this large 5 lb bag for activities

– Food Coloring Gel (one in each color of the rainbow) – we like to use this liquid food coloring gel since it’s concentrated and makes the colors really vibrant

– Dropper

– Water

– Vinegar

Watch the Video Tutorial Here!

How to do a fizzy baking soda and vinegar experiment.

1. Start by placing 1 cup of baking soda into a bowl.

2. In a pouring cup, add 3 tablespoons of water. Mix in 1-2 drops of red food coloring into the water. If using regular food coloring, you may need to add more drops to make it more vibrant.

3. Pour the food colored water into the bowl with baking soda and mix until the baking soda is dyed.

It should still be a powdery-like texture and look like the following:

Repeat the above steps for Yellow and Orange. 

For Green, Blue and Purple , mix only 1/2 cup of baking soda to 1.5 tablespoons of water (you don’t need as much of these colors to make the rainbow so you can halve the recipe above.

4.  Lay out the colors onto a white tray or baking sheet. Protect your table if needed so the food coloring does not go onto your table.

5.  Put vinegar in a bowl and then let kids use a dropper to drop the vinegar onto the rainbow.

Kids love seeing the reaction the baking soda and vinegar makes together!

We love how easy this science experiment is to set up. And kids love to use the droppers to make the vinegar/baking soda reaction.

The rainbow version is a lot of fun to try! We hope you enjoy this easy science experiment!

More Science Experiments

Try this fun and easy Grow a Rainbow Experiment . You only need washable markers and paper towel!

For another fun experiment, make some oobleck! 

Try a rainbow rain cloud in the jar experiment!

Related Ideas:

Cloud Dough

The BEST Playdough Recipe

How to Make Slime With Contact Solution

50+ Christmas Crafts for Kids

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Baking Soda and Vinegar Science Experiments

Kids love easy science experiments you can do with baking soda and vinegar. When baking soda and vinegar combine, you get an incredible chemical reaction everyone will want to try. Check out our top baking soda and vinegar science experiments for preschool through middle school.

Take a look at how we give this classic science experiment a twist with the activities below. These are our favorite ways to explore a fizzing reaction. Use this safe experiment as an easy way to introduce a chemical reaction to younger kids.

See our list of preschool science experiments and elementary science experiments .

All you need are a few simple ingredients you may already have in your kitchen! Baking soda, vinegar, and a little food coloring will keep your kids busy for quite a while. We have also included a few other ingredients that react with baking soda to make it fizz. Find unique ways to enjoy this fun experiment any day of the year!

💡 You can easily try this experiment at home or in a classroom, making it easy to do!

Free Printable Fizzy Reactions Guide

If you love mixing baking soda and vinegar, look through the experiments below and grab the free printable baking soda and vinegar fizzy reactions guide !

Apple Volcano

Grab an apple that’s ready to be composted and try this fall theme baking soda and vinegar activity!

Baking Soda and Cranberry Juice

What happens when you add cranberry juice to baking soda? Fizzing cranberries ! What about lemon juice or lime juice like this Lemon Volcano ? Find out with these citric acid experiments.

Baking Soda Fizzy Paint

Try fizzy painting! Make your own cool fizzy art with baking soda and vinegar paint for a fun and easy art meets science activity. Try this fizzy heart !

Baking Soda Moon Rocks

Here we made our own DIY moon rocks for a cool space theme activity for kids.

Balloon Experiment

Can you blow up a balloon using only baking soda and vinegar?

Baking Soda Bottle Rocket

Combine physics and chemistry with this unique baking soda and vinegar science experiment! Kids will love blasting off a bottle rocket .

Bubbling Slime

This is by far one of the  coolest slime recipes we have to date because it combines two things we love: slime making and baking soda and vinegar reactions.

Classic Baking Soda Volcano

Vinegar volcanoes are always a hit, and you can make them in several ways. We are using the classic baking soda volcano to test our science skills! Learn how to make a batch of salt dough and craft a volcano fit for this science experiment.

Cookie Cutter Baking Soda Experiments

Grab your cookie cutters for a fun and easy baking soda project. Try different themes with your holiday cookie cutters. Try these fizzing snowflakes!

Dancing Corn

Dancing corn is usually a favorite baking soda and vinegar experiment around Thanksgiving for us! The alternative to this type of science project is done with a carbonated liquid, such as this dancing raisins science experiment.

Dinosaur Volcano

What’s more fun than combining dinosaur play and a baking soda and vinegar reaction! This dinosaur volcano activity provides an opportunity for younger kids to learn about dinosaurs, volcanoes, and the natural world in a hands-on way.

Fizzing Dinosaur Eggs

The coolest dinosaur activity EVER!! A fun variation on a baking soda and vinegar reaction where kids can hatch out their own dinosaurs.

Fizzing Sidewalk Paint

This is an awesome way to take science outside and turn it into STEAM! Get outdoors, paint pictures, and enjoy a kid-favorite fizzing chemical reaction.

LEGO Volcano

Build your own volcano with basic LEGO bricks and watch it erupt over and over again.

Popping Bags

Another unique way to try a baking soda experiment outside! How to make an exploding plastic bag.

Sandbox Eruption

Take your baking soda project outdoors and build a baking soda and vinegar bottle rocket in your sandbox.

Snow Volcano

This makes for a great winter science experiment! Take the baking soda and vinegar fun outdoors and create your very own erupting snow-cano!

Watermelon-Cano

We love to make anything erupt… Also check out our apple volcano , pumpkin volcano and even a puking pumpkin .

Baking Soda and Vinegar Science Fair Project

Set this up as a Baking Soda and Vinegar Science Fair Project! Learn more about Science Fair Projects here and grab the free pack.

• Try using different baking soda and vinegar ratios to see how they affect the reaction.
• Add food coloring to the vinegar to create a colorful eruption.
• Test other household substances, such as lemon juice , orange juice, or cranberry juice , to compare their reaction with baking soda.
• Add dish soap and compare the eruptions.
• Try using containers with different size openings to observe the pressure the gas exerts, causing the eruption.

💡 Read more about the Scientific Method for Kids here!

What Makes Baking Soda Fizz?

Baking soda is made up of tiny particles called molecules. Each molecule has three different elements: sodium, hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen.

Something exciting happens when baking soda comes into contact with an acid, like vinegar! The acid (vinegar) and the base (baking soda) react. The vinegar donates a hydrogen ion to the baking soda during this reaction.

The hydrogen ion combines with the bicarbonate ion in baking soda to form carbonic acid. This is unstable and quickly breaks into water and carbon dioxide gas.

The carbon dioxide gas is why baking soda starts to fizz and bubble. The gas tries to escape from the mixture, creating bubbles that rise to the surface. These bubbles make a fizzing sound and give the impression of a mini volcano eruption!

So, when you mix baking soda with an acid like vinegar, you get a fantastic fizzy reaction due to the production of carbon dioxide gas. It’s truly an exciting and visually appealing demonstration of a chemical reaction!

You might also like: Cool Chemistry Projects for Kids

Endothermic Reaction

Mixing baking soda and vinegar is an endothermic reaction because the carbonic acid needs to take in energy from its surroundings (the mixture of baking soda and vinegar).

This process of taking in energy is what makes the reaction endothermic. And as it takes energy, it produces carbon dioxide gas, which creates all the exciting fizz and bubbles you see! It’s like a bit of science magic happening right before our eyes!

You might also like: Elephant Toothpaste (Exothermic Reaction)

Helpful Science Resources To Get You Started

Here are a few resources that will help you introduce science more effectively to your kiddos or students and feel confident yourself when presenting materials. You’ll find helpful free printables throughout.

• Best Science Practices (as it relates to the scientific method)
• Science Vocabulary
• All About Scientists
• Free Science Worksheets
• DIY Science Kits
• Science Tools for Kids
• Scientific Method for Kids
• Citizen Science Guide
• Join us in the Club

Printable Science Projects For Kids

If you’re looking to grab all of our printable science projects in one convenient place plus exclusive worksheets and bonuses like a STEAM Project pack, our Science Project Pack is what you need! Over 300+ Pages!

• 90+ classic science activities  with journal pages, supply lists, set up and process, and science information.  NEW! Activity-specific observation pages!
• Best science practices posters  and our original science method process folders for extra alternatives!
• Be a Collector activities pack  introduces kids to the world of making collections through the eyes of a scientist. What will they collect first?
• Know the Words Science vocabulary pack  includes flashcards, crosswords, and word searches that illuminate keywords in the experiments!
• My science journal writing prompts  explore what it means to be a scientist!!
• Bonus STEAM Project Pack:  Art meets science with doable projects!
• Bonus Quick Grab Packs for Biology, Earth Science, Chemistry, and Physics

One Comment

I am a regular visitor of your website. Thanks for the great article. By following this article I created youtube video of my son showing step by step tutorial of Magic Balloon Science Experiment for Kids using Baking Soda and Vinegar – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl_OMitc150

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7 Fizzy Baking Soda and Vinegar Science Experiments

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There is something about baking soda and vinegar science experiments that just never gets old. Kids of all ages enjoy these activities, but in my experience, little ones love them the most. They get so excited when they watch the baking soda and vinegar reaction!

When my kids were little I got into the habit of buying large containers of baking soda and white vinegar. These supplies are pretty inexpensive, especially when purchased in bulk. You might not want to use them in food prep after a while, but they are always good for science experiments.

Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and vinegar (water and acetic acid) form carbon dioxide gas when they are mixed together.

These easy science experiments are sure to be a hit! Creating an acid-base reaction is a fun way to learn about chemical reactions.

Baking Soda and Vinegar Science Experiments

Tip – I recommend doing all of the vinegar and baking soda science experiments on a baking sheet or outside. The fizzy reactions can get messy quickly!

Classic Volcano

Making a volcano is a classic science experiment for kids. This activity can fit in with a science lesson about chemical reactions, but it can also be a great volcano demonstration in a lesson about volcanos.

You will need:

• Container to hold the baking soda
• Baking soda
• Playdough or clay (if you want to form a classic volcano shape)

First, gather all of your materials. You can use pretty much any container to make the volcano. I used a beaker from my science cabinet, but you could use a drinking glass, a mason jar, a clean can, etc. I have even seen people make a big baking soda and vinegar volcanos using sand buckets! (Definitely do that outside for easy cleanup.)

I recommend putting the volcano in a glass casserole dish to contain the mess.

If you want to form the classic volcano shape, use playdough or clay to add a slope to your container. You can also paint it if you want. Let this harden and dry before adding baking soda or vinegar.

When your volcano is ready, sprinkle baking soda into your container. Different volcanos will need different amounts of baking soda. If you have a small container you will just need a little. If you use a large container you will need a lot.

When everyone is ready, pour the vinegar onto the baking soda. The fizzy chemical reaction happens pretty much instantly.

Fizzy Dinosaur Eggs

This fizzy dinosaur eggs activity from Kim at TheBestIdeasForKids.com is going to be a hit with any young children who love dinosaurs. Kids can help prepare the baking soda eggs and then use the vinegar to make them ‘hatch’ or an adult can prepare the eggs ahead of time.

• Food coloring
• Small plastic dinosaurs (or whatever you want inside of the eggs)
• Squirt bottle or dropper

Get the full fizzy dinosaur egg directions .

Drop Painting

I loved setting my kids up with this activity when they were toddlers – early elementary. It was my go-to activity when I needed them to be engaged at the kitchen table so I could supervise them while cooking. They had a great time and I was able to cook without little hands helping.

• Baking tray or dish
• Cups – one for each color
• Different colors of food coloring
• Dropper or pipette – one for each color

To set up this activity, add a layer of baking soda to a baking dish. Then add vinegar to small cups. I used an assortment of recycled glass jars. Add a few drops of food coloring to each cup. Kids can help mix primary colors to create secondary colors. Put a pipette or dropper in each cup.

Now kids can use the pipettes to drop colored vinegar onto the baking soda. Everywhere that a drop of vinegar hits the baking soda kids will see bubbles in the color of the vinegar.

Some kids like to make a picture using the baking soda as a temporary canvas. Other kids just enjoy the process. Either way, they are having fun experimenting with baking soda and vinegar. This sort of activity when kids are young lays a foundation for understanding chemical reactions when they are older.

Hot ice seems like an oxymoron, but it is actually a really cool science experiment using baking soda and vinegar. This activity has a few more steps than some of the other ideas, but kids will be delighted with the result.

• Baking Soda
• Glass measuring cup
• Glass pie plate
• Refrigerator

Get the full directions for hot ice from PlaydoughtoPlato.com .

Hidden Colors

This hidden colors activity is similar to the vinegar drop painting activity. It uses the same basic supplies, but the order is different.

• Mini-muffin tin
• Vinegar in a cup
• Dropper or pipette

Put a few drops of food coloring in each mini-muffin tin well. Cover it with a thin layer of baking soda. You want enough baking soda to cover the food coloring, but not enough to fill up the muffin tin. When it is ready, kids shouldn’t be able to tell what color is in which spot.

Pour vinegar into a cup and give your child a dropper or pipette.

Kids can slowly add drops of vinegar to each well of baking soda until they can see the color mix in with the carbon dioxide bubbles.

Exploding Bag

I think most kids go through a phase where they like to watch things explode. In my house that happened in the late elementary and early middle school years.

This baking soda and vinegar activity will make kids who love explosions happy.

I think it is a good idea to do this activity outside because it can get messy! The aftermath of a baking soda and vinegar explosion can feel gritty so it is helpful if it is done on a driveway so it can be hosed off.

• Plastic bag with a zip seal
• Permanent markers (optional)

Get the full directions for making an exploding bag at MomBrite.com .

Inflate a Balloon

Watching fizzy bubbles and explosions can be fun, but this baking soda and vinegar experiment helps kids understand that chemical reactions can be useful. They will attempt to inflate a balloon using baking soda and vinegar. Now, this certainly isn’t the most efficient way to blow up a balloon, but it gets kids thinking about science as useful.

• Plastic bottle

Get the full directions at HappyBrownHouse.com .

I hope your kids enjoyed these simple science experiments! Once they have tried a few of these simple baking soda and vinegar activities, let them try making changes to see if the results change. Maybe they can try using lemon juice instead of vinegar and see what happens!

Check out these other science activities for kids!

• How to Grow a Germ Farm
• Rock Cycle Activities for Middle School
• Helpful Science Vocabulary Activities

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Welcome! My name is Jennifer. I am a teacher at heart. Before my children were born I was a public school teacher. Now, I am a homeschooling mom of two.

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Magic Colourful Fizzing Bicarb Soda & Vinegar Science Experiment

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

• Shallow tray
• Food colouring
• Bicarb Soda { Baking Soda }

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS FOR COLOURFUL BICARB & VINEGAR REACTIONS

What's happening when baking soda and vinegar react.

OTHER FUN SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS FOR KIDS

• Lava Lamp Sensory Bottle
• Magic Milk Science Experiment
• Colourful Witches Potions
• Fizzing Pumpkins

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Colorful Fizzing Sensory Bin with Vinegar and Baking Soda

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We've been focusing on color activities for toddlers this week, which meant it was the perfect time to set up our colorful fizzing sensory bin with vinegar and baking soda. This activity is always a fun one and it's great to add a bit of science to our activities.

Colorful fizzing sensory bin with vinegar and baking soda

I'm sure you've seen the reaction of vinegar and baking soda before, and it's a perfect sensory play activity for toddlers and preschoolers. The addition of some food coloring makes it even more fun. If you love this activity you might also enjoy our FREE 10 Day Simple Sensory Bin Challenge (sign up HERE). 

A colorful fizzing sensory bin is an inexpensive toddler activity to set up. Assuming you already have a container, you'll spend less than $10 for everything you need. The main item that I love using in this activity is the turkey baster. It's great for fine motor skills, and the fact that it's larger than a medicine dropper means that it's easier for little hands to use. You can get one for less than $4 HERE on Amazon or you can normally find them at your dollar stores. If you have any leftover baking soda and vinegar you can always try making this DIY Volcano. You can also continue the science theme with these solar science experiments. 

What you need to make a colorful fizzing sensory bin 

The items needed for this sensory bin are pretty basic. You will need:

• Plastic container. I used a small one like this. 
• White vinegar
• Containers to put your colors in (I used ones like this but any container will work)
• Food coloring - I like to get a pack like this one for craft
• Bicarb soda or baking soda ( same thing, just different names depending on where you live!). You want enough to fill your container.  I used the two bags you can see in the photo.
• Turkey baster like THIS ONE. 

How to set you your fizzing colorful sensory bin

Fill up your container with the baking soda.

Add a few drops of food coloring to each container. You can mix the colors to make new ones if you like (we mixed blue and red to make purple).

Add the vinegar to your food coloring. Don't those colors look inviting!

Let your child have the turkey baster and pick up some of the colors. They may need to be shown how it works but normally get the hang of it quite quickly. For the younger toddlers you can help them with this bit and let them do the squeezing part.

Let them squeeze the colored vinegar into the tub and watch it fizz! Some great questions to ask during this time are:

• What do you think will happen?
• What does it look like?
• What does it smell like?
• Can you hear it making  sound?
• What do you think will happen if we add another color?

Add some more colors!

The children will have heaps of fun choosing different colors and seeing the patterns that it makes.

As you go on the sensory bin will get messier and the colors will mix but that's the fun of it! We actually extended this activity by adding dinosaurs to it at the end (we love these ones). This worked well as by then it was a big brown mess!

If you enjoy this colorful fizzing sensory bin using baking soda and vinegar then I'd love you to share a photo over in our Facebook Group or on Instagram ( use #MyBoredToddler)

If you want to do more toddler activities I'm sure you'll love these:

Sensory Bins for Toddlers 

Unlock your child’s creativity from the comfort of home with our engaging and personalized private online art lessons for kids !  Designed for kids 5-16 to gain skills and confidence.

• Make Learning Fun , Sensory Play for Kids

How to Do a Baking Soda Experiment with Kids

Try this classic, hands-on learning activity combining science and art. Baking soda and vinegar are an easy science experiments for kids.

Updated June 2024

Periodically I find myself remembering that so often with kids art, simple is often best. This is especially true with young kids as too many choices can often overwhelm and distract kids.

So today I thought we’d return to an oldie but a goodie: baking soda & vinegar experiments.

We come back to this simple science experiment for kids again and again. Most of the time I set this up as a simple color mixing activity by coloring the vinegar. The colors mix together and fizz as we all happily watch new colors emerge.

I love this project for its combination of art and science. Plus, it is SO simple to set up. And of course, there are many different options for expanding upon this like erupting playdough volcanoes or a sparkly fizzy potion .

Baking Soda Experiment

• white vinegar
• baking soda
• trays , cake pans, etc.
• pipettes (optional)
• liquid watercolors or food coloring

INSTRUCTIONS

I hope you give this activity a try. There’s a reason it’s been around so long! And don’t forget to tag us on Instagram #theartfulparent so we can see your art in action!

More Science Experiments for Kids

• The Best Science Experiments for Kids (artfulparent.com)
• The Awesome Rainbow Milk Science Experiment
• Melting Ice Science Experiment with Salt and Liquid Watercolors
• Ooey Gooey Oily Process Art
• Erupting Playdough Volcanoes
• How to Do the Rainbow Skittles Experiment

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Easy Baking Soda and Vinegar Volcano Eruption for Kids

May 28, 2014 by Katie T. Christiansen 5 Comments

Need a super simple baking soda and vinegar volcano recipe? This one takes about three minutes to prep (and the kids get to help). It uses six common ingredients,  and there is no mess to clean up afterward! If simple and no cleaning is music to your ears, you’re in the right place. We’ve made this five times in the past two weeks, so it’s definitely a loved activity here.

I have always loved making volcanoes with my kids, but they can be time-consuming and require lots of prep. Well, “lots” may be stretching it, but in my world, if it’s not simple, it doesn’t usually happen. The sad truth is that while I’ve thought about making a volcano tons of times, I’ve only made it happen a few. I wanted to change that by making it a super easy process. I hope you absolutely love it!

And if you love these types of science experiments, you can see even more baking soda and vinegar experiments that are simple and so fun! They are also an awesome addition to a preschool curriculum .

Baking Soda and Vinegar Volcano

How do you make the easiest volcano recipe in the world?

Ingredients

• Plastic cup (We tried a water bottle, but the plastic cup worked much better)
• 3-4 Tbs of baking soda at least (we usually do 4-6 which makes it extra foamy and will do 2-3 eruptions)
• 1 tsp of dish soap
• 1 cup (8 oz) of Vinegar to start with per eruption…then they’ll be asking for more 🙂

Location: an area with pea gravel, sand, or dirt

While you mix the base ingredients, have the kiddos make a mound out of pea gravel (or you could certainly do this with dirt). Once you have a mound, put the cup on top of it, and turn it into a mountain.  How easy is that!

We give it a good stir just before adding the last ingredient. Now it’s time for the eruption! Pour in the vinegar until it starts foaming over, pouring it’s lava all over the rocks.

The pictures really don’t do this justice, but our pea gravel mountain was just under a foot tall (30 cm).

Here’s our bubbly red lava taking over the rocks. In the background here, I’ve been hearing “there she blows!”

It is also super fun to mix up the colors a little bit! We can pour the vinegar in about three times before we need to add more baking soda to our solution.

Baking Soda and Vinegar Volcano Video

Want to see it in action? Here’s the video!

Since we can’t get enough of this, here are some more snapshots of our other volcano eruptions.

 What does it look like afterward? Here’s a picture of ours once we took away the plastic cup. You can hardly even tell we did anything, and the rocks must be nice and clean with the baking soda and vinegar. If the washable paint doesn’t come off the rocks right away, it will within a few days or the next rain.

If you want to see what this looks like with dirt, check out these fun volcano posts!

Easy Backyard Volcano by Mom with a Lesson Plan

Erupting Volcanoes in Preschool by Teach Preschool

Or if you have the time to make it a little fancier, here are some more great ideas:

Build, Paint, and Erupt Volcano by Fun at Home With Kids

Erupting Volcano Dinosaur Printable from Fun at Home With Kids

Comparing Homemade Volcano Recipes by Still Playing School

How to Build a Volcano by Kids Activities Blog

Ice Volcanoes by Reading Confetti

Messy Play Fun with Shaving Cream from Fun-A-Day!

Erupting an Easy Homemade Volcano by Mom to 2 Posh Lil’ Divas

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September 13, 2016 at 8:32 am

My son tried this Has lots of fun!

February 28, 2018 at 4:38 pm

I like the idea I have to try it thank you Katie from preschool inspirations I love it and it looks fun and cool because I have a science fair at Edison elementary and I think it would be cool thanks

April 29, 2018 at 5:51 pm

Can you do this without the paint too?

May 2, 2018 at 9:19 am

Hi Amanda, it works without paint. It just won’t be colored. Have fun!

[…] sort of guided activity during my break time. For example some fun science experiments. Making a baking soda and vinegar volcano is super easy and fun. It doesn’t take too long either so you can easily do this with your […]

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Hands On As We Grow®

Hands on kids activities for hands on moms. Focusing on kids activities perfect for toddlers and preschoolers.

Baking Soda and Vinegar Experiment with Color Fun

Fine Motor Science Preschoolers Toddlers Experiment My Favorites 38 Comments

Any baking soda and vinegar experiment I’ve ever done with the kids has always been a success. The fizz just makes it so much fun!

This is one of our favorite activities that we do, and my kids’ too!

Below you’ll find Henry’s version we did from a few years ago. I recently did it with the younger two boys again and thought I’d update this post (kind of for my own personal scrapbooking, if nothing else).

I brought out my roasting pan, because it never gets used for anything else, and sprinkled some baking soda to generously over the bottom.

By the way, we’ve tested out the best way to get the best reactions from baking soda and vinegar experiments. Check out the results we had!

I then poured vinegar into three small dishes and added food coloring (yellow, blue and green), looking back, I would have just stuck with blue and yellow to  make green.

The boys each had their tool of choice, and eye dropper and a turkey baster. I always think the eye dropper would be more fun, but the kids like more volume at once, so they always choose the turkey baster. They swapped several times throughout the activity.

Watching the baking soda fizz up as the vinegar hit is is so exciting to kids!

I love seeing their faces when it happens!

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And watching them drop yellow on top of blue, or vice versa to mix colors and make green was exciting for them to see as well.

There was always the question of what color will it make?

I just wish I didn’t have green in the mix. But it was still fun and the concept was learned.

Plus, the fine motor skills of squeezing the eye droppers and turkey basters were a good bonus!

I had to refill the dishes of vinegar several times to keep the fun going! (I like keeping the amounts small in the dishes in case of a spill, which happens a lot with a toddler.)

Learn my tips for doing activities with toddlers

Below is Henry’s version from a few years ago.

Henry was fascinated by the reactions the colored vinegar made when it hit the baking soda in this activity.

Just spread out some baking soda on a cookie sheet and add color to some vinegar!

While I was coloring the vinegar, I let Henry have some experimental play of his own with the baking soda first.

He liked to see the prints his hammer made when he hit it.

I suggested dropping a golf ball in the mound of baking soda, hoping to make moon craters. He didn’t find that as fascinating as the hammer though.

During his experimenting, I simply poured vinegar into three small dishes. And added a few drops of food coloring to each.

I handed Henry a few different choices for droppers: an old medicine syringe, a dropper and a large turkey baster. That’s what I had on hand to use.

I loved seeing what those little fingers were doing as he sucked up and squirted the vinegar in each of the droppers. They’re all great for fine motor skills .

We also tried to reverse the science experiment by adding baking soda to the vinegar.

We experimented to find the perfect ratio of baking soda to vinegar for the best reactions, find out what it is !

Henry wasn’t thrilled with this because it didn’t work nearly as well.

Watching the baking soda fizz as the vinegar hit was exciting! Seeing the colors mix together was pretty neat too.

Henry continued until every last drop of colored vinegar was used.

Even then he started sucking up vinegar from the cookie sheet to squirt it again!

Even though it looks like there may have been some sensory play going on, I don’t believe a finger even touched the pan! I was amazed that Henry could keep his hands off. I think the designs were made by dragging the dropper through the baking soda.

About Jamie Reimer

Jamie learned to be a hands on mom by creating activities, crafts and art projects for her three boys to do. Jamie needed the creative outlet that activities provided to get through the early years of parenting with a smile! Follow Jamie on Pinterest and Instagram !

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10 AMAZING Baking Soda Experiments

July 18, 2020 By Emma Vanstone 6 Comments

Baking soda experiments or activities are a great, safe and easy way to introduce the concept of a chemical reaction to children. Baking soda is alkaline and reacts with acids such as vinegar, releasing carbon dioxide ( a gas ) and water. The fizz produced is brilliant fun for children to watch, especially if you combine it with washing up liquid ( dish soap ) to make even more bubbles or add a bit of food colouring, ice or a theme.

Note: This is an old post that I have updated, so there are now more than ten ideas!

Baking Soda Reactions

Make honeycomb.

Did you know honeycomb has lots of holes due to the addition of baking soda? Making honeycomb is a delicious way to see the bubbles made when baking soda reacts.

Baking Soda Rocket

This rocket is my favourite baking soda experiment, but it does shoot up with a bang, so take extra special care and stand well back! You’ll need to wrap the baking soda in a small piece of kitchen towel to slow the reaction down for long enough to push the cork securely into place.

Baking Soda Powered Boat

We loved making our baking soda boat , although it was tricky to get the mechanism to work correctly. It’s worth persevering with, though. It’s fun to try making several different size boats and investigate how they move when you add different amounts of baking soda and vinegar.

Monster Tea Party and witchy potions

Our monster tea party was filled with fun fizzy potions and an excellent opportunity to try baking soda as well as bicarbonate of soda. Which do you think worked the best?

If monsters aren’t your thing, how about making witchy or fairy potions?

Baking Soda Volcano

A baking soda volcano is a staple science activity for kids. Try asking children to investigate using different amounts of vinegar but keeping the amount of washing-up liquid and baking soda the same. Can they create the perfect recipe for an eruption?

Volcanos can be made using snow, sand, papier mache, LEGO or anything else you can make a basic volcano shape with.

Baking Soda Popper

My children loved these baking soda poppers . Please be careful and stand back, as these can shoot up with a little warning and a lot of force.

We experimented to discover the best baking soda and vinegar combination for a launch.

What reacts with baking soda?

This fun investigation is great for children to start thinking scientifically. We tested lots of different liquids to discover what reacts with baking soda and what doesn’t.

Remember to keep the amount of baking soda and the test substance the same.

Fizzing rocks with baking soda

Make baking soda rocks and watch them fizz! Can you hide something inside them?

Blow up a balloon with baking soda

Did you know you can blow up a balloon with baking soda and vinegar or another acid?

Baking Soda Ice Cubes

Make some colourful baking soda ice cubes and watch them fizz as you add vinegar.

Frozen Vinegar

Inspiration Laboratories froze the vinegar instead of the baking soda, which also worked brilliantly.

Dancing Raisins

Watch raisins dance around a glass due to bubbles of carbon dioxide.

Fizzy Paint

We did this many years ago but loved our fizzy paint afternoon .

Exploding Sandwich Bag

Exploding sandwich bags are always fun too! Simply pop a bit of vinegar and baking soda in a sealable plastic bag, fasten it quickly and stand back to watch!

Colour Changing Baking Soda Potions

These colour-changing potions made with red cabbage indicator are fantastic fun and easy to make too!

These change colour as the acid and then alkali is added.

Christmas Elf Lab

We very much enjoyed our magical fizzy elf lab for Christmas time too!

Do you have any more baking soda experiments to tell us about?

What is a baking soda and vinegar reaction?

If you combine an acid and an alkali, they react together to neutralise each other. Vinegar is an acid, and bicarbonate of soda is an alkali.

The reaction releases carbon dioxide gas, which is the bubbles you see. If you add washing-up liquid ( dish soap ) to your eruption, mix the bubbles making the washing-up liquid bubble up, giving you an extra bubbly mix.

Don’t forget we’ve got 100s more easy science experiments for you to try at home or school!

Last Updated on April 9, 2024 by Emma Vanstone

Safety Notice

Science Sparks ( Wild Sparks Enterprises Ltd ) are not liable for the actions of activity of any person who uses the information in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources. Science Sparks assume no liability with regard to injuries or damage to property that may occur as a result of using the information and carrying out the practical activities contained in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources.

These activities are designed to be carried out by children working with a parent, guardian or other appropriate adult. The adult involved is fully responsible for ensuring that the activities are carried out safely.

Reader Interactions

May 03, 2014 at 5:05 pm

We love the baking soda experiments – and there are several here we haven’t tried! These will keep us busy for awhile!

May 05, 2014 at 7:02 am

Loving the baking soda ideas – we’ve tried a volcano before. Will have to try some more.

May 06, 2014 at 12:49 pm

Thanks Erica 🙂

September 08, 2016 at 8:17 pm

this was so helpful in help of finding fun and new experiments thank you to the creators of this.

June 10, 2017 at 5:30 pm

We have done every single one of these experiments before we even looked at this website and they were really cool.

March 05, 2018 at 9:24 pm

i found a science project but it calls for 80% vinegar. where can i find it

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Toddler Approved

Simple hands on activities for busy parents.

Outdoor Baking Soda and Vinegar Experiment

Need a fun and easy idea this week? Toddlers and preschoolers will love this classic baking soda and vinegar experiment that they can do with friends on a large scale! GO BIG with this GIANT FIZZY SCIENCE BIN!

Each summer we host summer camp at home . This summer my big kids took over and hosted their own backyard camps. For their science themed day they invited the campers to explore a giant fizzy baking soda bin in a kiddie pool!

It was a hit!

We've done jumbo baking soda science bins in large sensory bins before, but this time we went even BIGGER and used our kiddie pool!

Kiddie pools (aka baby pools) are my favorite outdoor activity tool, especially during the summer! You can see some of our favorite kiddie pool activities in action in this video .

Every activity is more fun when it's jumbo sized in the kiddie pool! There is also space for everyone to experiment!

Here are a few favorite BIG kiddie pool activities:

• Jumbo Waterbeads in the Kiddie Pool
• Epic Kiddie Pool Foam Sensory Bin
• Jumbo Dry Ice Potions
• ABC Scoop in the Kiddie Pool
• Water balloon Painting in the Kiddie Pool
• Kiddie Pool Treasure Hunt

How do you set up this jumbo baking soda and vinegar experiment?

Before you get started, you need to make sure you have all the materials!

The basic supply list:

Toddler Approved is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read more about these links in my  Disclosure Policy .

• Baking soda (we used 2 big bags from Costco)
• Vinegar (we used 1.5 bottles from Costco)
• Liquid watercolors
• Jumbo droppers

RELATED: Need more easy to set up outdoor activities ? Toddlers and preschoolers will love these!

Fizzy baking soda science experiments are fun and amazing for helping toddlers and preschoolers develop their fine motor skills! We love to use jumbo eye droppers for this activity because they are easy for little fingers to hold and squeeze!

Before toddlers and preschoolers ever pick up a pencil to write, you want to give them a lot of opportunities to strengthen their finger muscles and build the fine motor skills needed to be successful.

Set up is so easy! Here's how to make this baking soda and vinegar science activity really quick:

• Pour baking soda into your kiddie pool! The baking soda may be hard, so use a wooden spoon or your hands to crush any hard blocks and spread out the baking soda to fill the base of the pool.
• Put vinegar into several cups and add a few drops of liquid watercolors. Stir.
• Add jumbo droppers (or pipettes) into the cups of vinegar and you're ready to start playing!

Give each child a cup of vinegar and a dropper and they're ready to start squirting the vinegar onto the baking soda!

The colorful fizzy eruptions are so fun to watch!

This baking soda and vinegar experiment can keep kids occupied for a long time!

When kids run out of vinegar, just refill their cup and they can keep experimenting! I like to use large sturdy cups to hold the vinegar because kids need less refills and they work great as play tools as kids begin to experiment with the baking soda.

Let children lead this activity! You may find that they use their creativity and tools to try new things and explore materials in ways that you weren't expecting.

We love fizzy eruptions on a smaller scale, so it was fun to see our campers create larger eruptions all around the kiddie pool using their vinegar cups!

Wooden spoons and scissor scoops were a few other favorite tools during this activity!

RELATED: Love science? Try one of these 25+ easy to set up science activities .

Have you tried this baking soda and vinegar experiment on a large scale before (or outdoors)? If not, put it on your "must do" list!

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7 Classic Baking Soda and Vinegar Activities to Do with Your Kids

May 20, 2023 By Eva 2 Comments

Inside: Your kids will never turn down an invitation to do baking soda and vinegar activities . This is one of those experiments that can be kept basic or notched up a bit to increase the wow factor.

Sometimes all you need to keep your kids busy and put a smile on their faces are a few kitchen staples. The baking soda and vinegar combo is like peanut butter and jelly, chips and salsa, macaroni and cheese, or eggs and bacon. They go so well together that the result is much greater than the sum of its individual parts.

Which is a win for both of you!

With these activities, your kids will be busy learning and experimenting, and you will have the satisfaction of feeling like a magician.

7 Classic Baking Soda and Vinegar Experiments

Warning: if this is your first time doing these activities or your kids are little, please supervise at all times. I talk more about how to teach vinegar safety at the end of this post. 

Disclaimer: All Amazon links on this blog are affiliate links. It means Kid Minds gets a commission from all qualified purchases. Thank you so much for your support!

#1: Basic Baking Soda and Vinegar Experiment

When the vinegar (an acid) is mixed with the baking soda (a base), there is a spectacular chemical reaction that is easily observable to the naked eye. The reaction releases a gas called carbon dioxide, but don’t worry: it’s a safe experiment as long as you follow instructions.

What you need 

Baking soda

Container (tall, narrow ones are the best)

Rimmed tray to contain the leaks

(Optional) food coloring

• Add some baking soda to a container. If you are using food coloring, add a few drops now.
• Pour vinegar on top of baking soda (and food coloring).
• Watch how the reaction sizzles and bubbles over the edge.

Note: To make it even more fun, use containers of different shapes and sizes simultaneously!

#2 Volcano Eruption

A Reactant is a substance (or substances) present at the start of the reaction. The Product is a resulting substance (or substances) formed by a chemical reaction. What are the reactant(s) and product(s) in this experiment?

What you need

Food coloring

Playdough or LEGO volcano

• Add baking soda and food coloring to the container that can fit inside your LEGO volcano or use playdough to cover the container to look like a volcano.
• Add the vinegar to the mix.
• Watch the eruption!

What factors affect the intensity of the reaction? As you think about quality and quantity, don’t forget about the effect of mixing and stirring. What was produced by this chemical reaction? What gas? How can the quantity of gas produced be maximized? (Hint: stir baking soda).

#3 Dancing Rice

What do you think will happen to the rice when the water runs out of carbon dioxide bubbles?

Baking soda – 1 teaspoon

Vinegar – 1 cup (or more)

Warm water – 1 cup

Rice (long grain brown is best)

Clear glass

• Add one teaspoon of baking soda to glass. Stir it well.
• Add a few rice grains. We always have good luck with brown rice, while white rice sometimes doesn’t work. If your experiment didn’t work and you don’t have brown rice, try raisins instead.
• Now pour in the vinegar and watch the grains dance up and down in the glass. The bubbles of carbon dioxide (from the reaction between baking soda and vinegar) adhere to each rice grain and make it float to the surface. But once up, the gas is released, so it sinks back down again. You can add more vinegar as you go.

#4 Balloon Fun

One can’t have a list of baking soda and vinegar activities without including this one. Basically, you use the power of a chemical reaction between the soda and vinegar to fill the balloon up for you. Can it get any more exciting? With this activity, you can learn about gas and chemical reactions while playing with balloons. Woo-hoo!

Baking soda – ⅓ cup

Vinegar- 1 cup

Plastic bottle

• Use a funnel to fill a balloon with ⅓ cup of baking soda.
• Now pour one cup of vinegar into a plastic bottle (the funnel will help).
• Fit the balloon over the bottle, trying not to drop any baking soda inside.
• Once the balloon is securely attached over the bottle, lift the balloon to let all the baking soda drop inside the bottle.
• Watch as the balloon fills with air.

#5 Plastic Baggie Explosion

Do you remember that the reaction between vinegar and baking soda creates carbon dioxide gas? In this experiment, the reaction is contained within a plastic bag. What do you think will happen if there is more carbon dioxide than the bag can hold? 😉 Hint: you might want to do this outside or in a clean-up friendly zone.  

2 tablespoons baking soda

½ cup vinegar

Sandwich size Ziploc bag

• Put 2 Tablespoons of baking soda into the middle of the tissue and fold it up.
• Add half a cup of vinegar to the bag.
• You have to work quickly now. Throw the tissue into the bag and immediately zip it completely closed. Set it down and step back.
• Watch the bag expand and … POP!

If you want to have even more fun with this experiment, line up plastic bags and vary the amount of baking soda you put into them. We show how to do it in more detail HERE .

#6 Frozen Fizzies

For this activity, we used Star Wars ice tray molds . On the photo above the Millenium Falcon is under fire. For my kids, vinegar-filled droppers are the shooter, and fizzing chemical reaction is explosions. Hours of fun guaranteed!

½ cup baking soda

1 cup of water

Ice cube tray

(optional) food coloring

Dropper or spray bottle

• Dissolve baking soda in water and add food coloring (optional).
• Pour the mixture into ice cube trays and leave in the freezer overnight.
• Place frozen baking soda cubes on a tray.
• Sprinkle some vinegar on the cubes and watch them fizz.

How do you know that a chemical reaction occurred? 

#7 Snow Day Any Day

Every day should be a snow day! Ummm, not really, but you can always make some fake snow and play all day!

Perhaps the longest-lasting baking soda and vinegar activity of all, this one can go on all day. As you can see in the photo above, my kids are engaged in pretty complex imaginative play involving snow-eating dinosaurs, speedy trucks, and blizzard. Everything that needs to be blasted with vinegar goes into a plastic container to keep the majority of “snow” intact. 

1 box of baking soda

Squirt bottle

• Freeze a box of baking soda overnight.
• Pour frozen baking soda into a container.
• Slowly add water and mix it in with your fingers or spoon until the desired consistency is reached. Our ideal consistency is when “the snow” forms into snowballs.
• (optionally) Make a snowman and blast it with a vinegar-filled squirt bottle!
• Fill a squirt bottle with vinegar, point it at the “snow,” and shoot. Warning: if more than one child is doing this activity at the same time, please, get out safety goggles and position their chairs in such a way that they can’t shoot each other in the face.
• Watch the snow erupt. Hours of fun!

Need Printables?

Do you want to take it a step further?

What’s your favorite baking soda and vinegar activity? If you are not sure, try them all right away or PIN for later >>>

Vinegar Safety

Even though vinegar is a common ingredient in many foods, it can cause serious injuries.

• Stress to your kids that they should never drink or touch vinegar with their bare hands.
• Tell them that to do any experiments containing chemical compounds, they need to act like scientists, and remain calm, cool, and collected at all times. I tell my kids to push a “Focus” button, something like putting on a Thinking Cap. Each of my kids found a different location for their button 🙂
• Plus, they should never splash or shake containers with vinegar because if they get it in their eyes, it can result in a serious burn. As someone who once burned eyes by direct application of hydrogen peroxide, (long story!), I can attest first hand that eye burns are very uncomfortable.
• Invest in kids’ safety goggles . They are light, and kids get used to wearing them during science demonstrations really fast. Plus, they help set the science-y mood and get kids ready to play professionals. 

Reader Interactions

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June 25, 2021 at 9:11 am

Thanks for the contributions of such nice activities. I found these very useful.

Would you please add the safety equipment like goggles, gloves and apron for the use of ingredients for small kids like soda and vinegar activities. The safety instructions are at the end of your post and some people just follow the main method and don’t look at safety instructions at the end. This would be useful if you mention at the start as warning.

Kind regards

[…] the other hand, if you combine something like vinegar and baking soda (an acid and a base), a chemical reaction occurs, and the ingredients transform… bubble and […]

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Fizzy science experiment with bicarbonate soda and vinegar

03/02/2017 by Cathy James 4 Comments

This is a really fun, fizzy science experiment that you can try with your children: using bicarbonate of soda and vinegar to have fun with chemistry. Don’t forget the glitter!

Fizzy science experiment with bicarbonate of soda and vinegar

My children love kitchen science experiments and this is one of their favourites. We’re using simple ingredients to create some fun chemistry reactions full of fizz!

For the experiment you will need:

:: bicarbonate of soda (sometimes called baking soda) which you’ll find in the baking section of the store

:: vingear – we’re using distilled white vinegar, also easily available in the grocery store

:: red and pink food colours – which is optional, but fun for a Valentine-themed activity

:: glitter – again optional, but it makes the fizzing even more fun

:: a pipette or a spoon

Take a small container and fill it with some bicarbonate of soda, and glitter if you’re using it.

We’re using heart-shaped pots as this is our Valentine-themed sensory science activity.

Set out your ‘invitation to fizz’ along with some vinegar.

We added some of the food colouring to the vinegar. It’s a good idea to place your soda-filled pots on a tray, plate, or bowl, to help contain the fizz once the chemistry starts to happen.

Then it’s time to start playing. We use a pipette to drop vinegar on to our bicarbonate of soda.

Add a little, add a lot, and watch as the chemical reaction happens between the bicarbonate of soda and the vinegar to make a big fizz.

You can keep topping up the vinegar to make your fizzy hearts grow bigger and bigger. Listen to the great sounds it makes!

What’s the science behind the experiment?

What’s happening to make the fizz? What you’re seeing is a chemical reaction taking place as the base (the bicarbonate of soda, NaHCO 3 ) reacts with the acid (the vinegar, HCH 3 COO). When they mix together they create carbonic acid, which is unstable. The carbonic acid splits up into water and carbon dioxide – and that’s why you can see and hear all the fizzing.

More lovely Valentine’s Day activities for your children

Did you see all my other  Valentine’s Day activities for children ? I’ve got more free printables, art, math, science, literacy and play ideas, all with a Valentine theme.  You can find them all here.

16/02/2015 at 9:12 pm

Hello. We tried this today when a friend brought her children round to play with mine. They loved every second and had so much fun; the laughter and constant enthusiastic comments said it all! Thanks for such a fun idea.

17/02/2015 at 9:21 am

Rachel – that’s made my day! So happy they had fun with it. Cathy

19/11/2020 at 8:33 am

Hello. This experiment was so fun and enjoyable. I am still waiting to get more vinegar to try it again but add some sequins or something else. I am also trying to get my dads permission to do it over his head!!!

20/11/2020 at 1:22 pm

Ha ha, good luck with getting permission Tobii!

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Buggy and Buddy

Meaningful Activities for Learning & Creating

January 13, 2016 By Chelsey

Exploring Colors with Baking Soda and Vinegar

Combine art and science in this fun and easy activity for kids using baking soda and vinegar.  It’s one of our favorite science experiments for preschool and kindergarten!

Follow our Science for Kids Pinterest board!

I’ve done this art and science activity with all of my after school kindergarten classes, and it always seems to be the one they remember the most! It’s really easy to set up and you only need a few common ingredients. (This post contains affiliate links.)

Check out even more hands-on fun in the video below!

In this science activity, not only will children get to create a chemical reaction, but they’ll also be able to explore color mixing and create some colorful “artwork”!

Materials for Exploring Colors Activity

• Tray (I used a set of foil trays like these for my class.)
• Baking soda
• White vinegar
• Containers to hold the colored vinegar (I used ice cube trays .)
• Pipettes (Super inexpensive, and we use them often- like with our straw rockets and with painting activities )
• Liquid watercolors or food coloring

Directions for Exploring Colors Activity

Prior to the activity we read books about colors. A good one to read right before is   A Color of His Own  by Leo Lionni.

1. Give each child or group of children a tray .

2. Fill the tray with baking soda . (We used one box per tray.)

3. Fill each ice cube tray (or other container) with vinegar . Add liquid watercolors to the vinegar so each child or group has a variety of colors to use.

4. Use a pipette or dropper to place a few drops of the colored vinegar onto the tray of baking soda. Watch what happens!

5. Continue exploring with other colors.

Each group of students was absolutely enthralled with this activity! They loved watching the chemical reactions take place and hypothesized about what would happen as they added different colors.

Once the tray was completely colored (about 25-30 minutes), they stood back and admired their finished creations. They were seriously so excited and asked if they could go around and see how everyone’s turned out!

After cleaning up, we sat down and read I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont. The kids loved how many of the illustrations in the book looked just like their colorful trays.

You can find all kinds of STEM activities in our ebook! Find out more here or buy it now here !

Hidden Colours Bicarbonate Soda Vinegar Experiment

Disclosure: This blog contains affiliate links which I may earn a small commission from if you purchase through them, at no extra cost to you.

All you need are two common household items to create a chemical reaction that will make everything look different all of a sudden!

Bicarb Soda and Vinegar Hidden Colours Experiment

When it comes to science, exploration is key. By exploring the world around them, kids can learn about the principles that govern our physical universe. And when it comes to exploring science concepts, there’s no better way to do it than with a fun and interactive experiment like the Bicarbonate of Soda and Vinegar Hidden Colours Experiment.

This experiment is a great way to get kids interested in science and chemistry. It’s also a fun way to teach them about how molecules interact with one another. With just a few common household items, you can create a reaction that will produce an instant reward! All while refining and strengthening their fine motor skills and hand eye coordination along with other valuable skills.

What you need to create the Hidden Colours experiment

In order to complete the Hidden Colours Experiment, you will need:

The mixture is safe to touch and perfect for some messy play after the experiment has been completed. Add some cars or dinosaurs and see where the setting takes your child’s play!

Is bicarbonate of soda and the same as baking soda?

How to do the hidden colours experiment.

1. Add a few drops of food colouring to each well of the muffin tray

2. Cover the food colouring with bicarbonate of soda

There is so much going on with just the addition of the vinegar! What colour is going to be next? Its so exciting! This activity is a favourite in our house as I am sure it will be in yours too!

The hidden colours experiment literally takes minutes to set up and it really packs a wow factor!

The chemical reaction that occurs when you mix bicarbonate soda and vinegar together

The reaction results in:

Do your kids love this experiment?

If your kids loved this home learning science experiment, they will likely love Fizzy dinosaur eggs too!

Learning Opportunities

This science experiment for kids is full of potential learning and development opportunities.

With some strategic positioning of containers, placing the vinegar opposite to the child’s dominant hand, they will cross their dominant hand across the middle of their body to refill their pipette.

This hidden colours science experiment is such a winner with kids of all ages! It really is such a great way of exposing your child to scientific concepts and play based learning!

She loves houseplants, giant chunky cookies and all things play based, incorporating learning experiences into every day!

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The 'No Shampoo Experiment,' Six Months Later

My switch to baking soda and ACV was supposed to last a month, but I got hooked.

Katherine Martinko is an expert in sustainable living. She holds a degree in English Literature and History from the University of Toronto.

• University of Toronto

Treehugger / Alexandra Cristina Nakamura

• Tips & Techniques

The switch to washing my hair with baking soda and apple cider vinegar was supposed to last only a month, but I couldn't stop.

It had been six months since I stopped using shampoo. The experiment started when my editor asked if I’d try the ‘no poo’ method just for January. I agreed reluctantly, and together with Margaret Badore , dived headfirst into the world of extremely alternative hair care. Our experiment resulted in the “ The No Shampoo Experiment. ” While Margaret went cold turkey for a month, I continued "washing" my hair, with baking soda, and "conditioning" it, with apple cider vinegar.

I never dreamed I’d still be doing it at the beginning of July, but there I was, a staunch convert to the 'no poo' method with no intentions of going back. I loved so many things about it, and this is what I tell people who are curious about my strange hair-washing habit.

There Was Almost No Adjustment Period for Me

...which I think is common for people with really thick hair, or hair washed no more than once or twice a week. People with thinner, straighter hair might take a few weeks to adjust, so don't jump to conclusions too quickly about whether or not it works.

My biggest hurdle was psychological and getting over the fleeting smell of salad dressing in the shower as I poured vinegar over my head (don’t worry—it dissipates immediately and there’s no residual odor).

My Hair Is Healthier and More Manageable the Longer I Avoid Shampoo

My hair gets less greasy and I can go longer between washes, usually four to five days. It's softer, shinier, and less frizzy than before. I have fewer bad hair days and can get the natural, loose curls I like with just a bit of coconut oil rubbed into my damp hair.

There have been only two times that I used natural shampoo instead of soda and vinegar: when I traveled to Honduras and Mexico for writing assignments this spring. Both times I thought it was better not to have to explain a strange white powder in my luggage. I saw a big difference after washing with shampoo. My hair was drier and frizzier and looked greasy within two days. I also noticed my scalp was itchier, perhaps because the shampoo stripped away the natural oils.

I Love How the No ‘Poo Method Fits in With Zero Waste Living

In six months, I went through one cardboard box of baking soda and was only halfway through the same jar of vinegar. There were no empty plastic shampoo and conditioner bottles to recycle , nor the accompanying host of hair care products I relied on to tame my hair.

If the no ‘poo method has intrigued you for a while, why not give it a try? You might be pleasantly surprised at the result. Here is what I did:

Measure 2 tbsp baking soda into a 500 mL/1 pint glass jar. Wet hair. Fill jar with water and stir to dissolve baking soda. Pour over head and scrub into hair. Rinse. Measure 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar into same jar. Add water, pour over head, and rinse almost immediately.

This recipe is for long hair. If yours is short to medium length, use one teaspoon of baking soda and vinegar in one cup of water. If your hair doesn’t seem clean enough once it’s dried, use more soda next time.

You can also use white vinegar; its smell dissipates quicker than ACV, but neither lingers after rinsing and drying. If the smell bothers you, add a few drops of essential oil (like lavender ) to the water-vinegar mix before the "conditioning" step.

I've also heard of rye flour used as a baking soda substitute . It's a bit gentler on the scalp than soda and leaves hair nice and shiny, but be careful to sift it well and dry your hair thoroughly.

• How to Simplify Your Beauty Routine
• How to Use Dry Shampoo (And Why It Works)
• 6 Simple Homemade Hair Masks to Treat Your Tresses
• 11 Ways to Use Apple Cider Vinegar for Clean and Naturally Beautiful Hair
• 9 Steps to Washing Your Hair Less
• How to Make Shampoo Bars: 4 Eco-Friendly Recipes
• Waterless Beauty: What It Means and Why You Should Try It
• 10 DIY Avocado Oil Recipes for Hair Care: Shampoos, Masks, Detanglers, and More
• How to Make a DIY Dry Shampoo
• 10 Ways to Use Jojoba Oil for Hair Care
• 5 Ways to Use Seaweed for Hair: Masks, Conditioners, and More
• 7 Simple Ways to Use Coconut Oil for Strong, Beautiful Hair
• On Creating a Zero Waste Beauty Routine
• 8 Tips for Sustainable Hair Care
• 5 Easy Ways to Use Lavender Essential Oil for Hair
• 5 DIY Hair Moisturizer Recipes for Silky, Soft Locks