Three words that make science exciting and fun-dry ice experiments. These experiments are easy to do, but they must be done with caution. Grab your tongs and gloves and bring your dry ice out of the freezer for hands-on fun.
Always use protections. never hold the dry ice in your hand! Check here for safety information on handling dry ice. Also, be aware that you will want to buy your dry ice the same day you use it or you may end up with an empty bag. Wear your gloves and use tongs. In fact, the first experiment involves making music with dry ice and tongs.
Musical ice
Ask everyone to be quiet. Stand close and get ready for a concert. pick up the dry ice and listen to it carefully. The warmth of the tongs meeting the coolness of the ice will cause it to “sing’ to you. Try touching the ice with other objects and find out if anything else will make it sing too.
Fog machine
You’ve seen them at parties. Now make your own fog machine. Add dry ice to a pan of warm water and water the reactions as the dry ice evaporates.
Bubble machine
Make your own bubble machine, too. Put the dry ice in a bowl. Add some warm water and a little dish soap. Use the tongs to move the ice into the new bowl. Slowly, bubbles will start forming. Watch as they roll over the sides of your bowl. Now, touch the bubbles and see what happens.
Matches
When you finally become bored with the rolling dry ice bubbles, try this one. Strike a match and hold it over the bowl of ice. Note what happens and see if you can find out what causes the reaction.
More bubbles
Place a piece of dry ice in a bowl. Open a regular bottle of bubble solutions. Using the plastic wand, blow bubbles at the dry ice. Avoid the sides of the bowl; just hit the dry ice and watch what happens to the bubbles!
Gas pressure
Drop a piece of dry ice into an empty water bottle. Quickly cover the top with a balloon. Stand back and watch what happens to the balloon, a reaction caused by the fact that dry ice doesn’t melt; it evaporates.
Dry ice is an amazing substance that helps make science extremely fun. Delight your kids with these simple, safe experiments after supper tonight. It will make memories that will last a lifetime!
