Sunday, May 24, 2009

Blowing Stuff Up can be Fun!!!

Some of you might remember that I try to pretend that I am crafty...like, with actual crafts and stuff, especially when I am attempting home school projects with my kids. You might also remember that I helped my kids assemble mounds of dirt, sticks and clay that were supposed to be bird’s nests, the two hours of mayhem making an advent calendar, and the disaster with home made gingerbread houses. This year I bought the boxed set, thinking it would be a slam dunk, and look what STILL happened! I am the opposite of Martha Stewart...

But the good news is, I am a great copy-cat, and I was able to redeem myself, at least in my children’s eyes, as a super-cool, sciencey-brainiack mom, who makes up words 'cause she can.

This time we didn’t make anything, instead, we blew up stuff. Diet Coke to be exact. Oh yeah. This is cool.

Simply put, you can go to many different sites, such as Weird Science Kids, Steve Spangler Science, or even Mythbusters to learn how to make a Coke Geyser and thrill all the kids on your block (maybe even the New Kids on the Block if you did this at one of their comeback concerts…just sayin’).

So now, for your visual enjoyment, a pictorial of the actual demonstration…

First, we took off for Rite Aid to buy Diet Coke and Mentos, where my kids joyfully exclaimed to all around us that we were about to blow up stuff...thankfully no one called the police.

Here is the Diet Coke.

Here are the Mentos.Now, the whole reason the geyser takes place is due to the chemical reactions between 4 ingredients in the Diet Coke: Carbonated Water, Phosphoric Acid, Caffeine, and Aspartame, (although you can get a stickier, and decent sized, geyser with regular Coke,) and two ingredients in the Mentos: Gum Arabic and Gelatin. Also, the Mentos are covered with pits, much like the surface of the moon. This allows for a process called Nucleation, which basically means the CO2 is able to attach to the pits, form bubbles, and then be released as a gas. When you have several Mentos in the Diet Coke, you get a bazillion bazillion bubbles. Man, I am SO smart...

When all of these components mix, you get an explosion! Observe...



Coolness. The kids had a blast, literally and figuratively!

Remember to always wear protective gear, and make your child do a terribly boring report after spraying Diet Coke all over the place and drinking the foam. This will make you fun AND responsible, like me!

Happy Explosions!!




9 comments:

Lessons in the Little Stuff said...

Hahaha cool and fun! My kids saw this done at Vacation Bible School last year and loved it. :-)

Jennifer said...

I like your style. Now THIS is my kind of DIY, DIY explosions!!!

Carol said...

This was way to funny, you made me laugh worth a lot. I also love Mythbusters so your story is a perfect example of leave it to the professionals. Smile

Banteringblonde said...

bummer it says video not available... You totally get major brownie points for coolness though!

The Retired One said...

How fun!
Can you adopt me????

G.Dowell said...

Don't you just love it when the kiddos have a blast (no pun intended) with learning? Life and learning is much more enjoyable when you are having fun.

Mamacita (The REAL one) said...

I loved your post about your kids and their Mentos Geyser experiment! My kids are crazy about the science toys at Steve Spangler's website, and it's always awesome to discover other parents who know the value of Spangler's methods and materials! (Great video, too!)

w said...

thanks. now i can explain to all the kids at the reunion all about the reactors, etc.

originally, i was just going to say "the geyser occurs because mentos is the freshmaker."

i wonder if a vartaniety of diedt drinks can mayerke the geyser. i know you can only use mentos, though... because like i said. it's the freshmaker.

Unknown said...

You're the best mom ever.

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