Elephant Toothpaste Experiment

If you have a witch or wizard who loves to whip up bubbling, frothing brews in his or her chemistry lab, then this Halloween inspired elephant toothpaste experiment is a MUST! Creating brews is a fabulous Halloween science activity and you can actually try this one with both regular household hydrogen peroxide and the more commonly used hydrogen peroxide that you need to get at a beauty store or through Amazon. Explore Halloween science and in particular thermogenic reactions with a super simple set up.

HALLOWEEN ELEPHANT TOOTHPASTE EXPERIMENT

HALLOWEEN EXPERIMENTS

This fall season we are exploring some cool Halloween theme science experiments. This exothermic chemical reaction using hydrogen peroxide and yeast is lots of fun and super easy to set up. We love cool fizzing science experiments for kids!

ELEPHANT TOOTHPASTE EXPERIMENT

Note: Adults should handle this hydrogen peroxide. It’s not meant for play and unreacted hydrogen peroxide may irritate skin or eyes! Wash hands thoroughly after the experiment. Wear safety goggles!

All measurements are per container. The size of the container will also play a part in the eruption. Try to choose something that comes up to a narrower opening to force the eruption up and out. Water bottles work well. A cauldron would be fun but you would not get the same kind of look since the opening is very wide and the gas produced during the reaction will have plenty of space to move around.

Make it a true experiment and try three different size containers!

SUPPLIES:

20-Volume hydrogen peroxide which is 6% (you can also use regular household hydrogen peroxide but the reaction will be smaller)
1 Tablespoon of dry fast acting yeast (use the little packs)
3 Tablespoons of warm water
Dish Soap
Food coloring
16 Oz container will work best

HOW TO SET UP HALLOWEEN SCIENCE EXPERIMENT

STEP 1. Place down a tray first to catch the eruption. Then pour 1/2 cup of the hydrogen peroxide liquid into your container or bottle.

STEP 2. Add about 10-20 drops of food coloring.

STEP 3. Add about 1 tablespoon of dish soap and give it a gentle swirl.

STEP 4. Mix the water and yeast together in a small container until it’s fully incorporated.

STEP 5. Pour the yeast mixture into the hydrogen peroxide/soap mixture and watch what happens!

Can You Touch the Foam?

Should you let your kids play with the foam? NO, you should not!

Because this is a stronger percentage of hydrogen peroxide than usually found in homes, we don’t recommend it! Unreacted hydrogen peroxide can be an irritant. However, if you choose to use household hydrogen peroxide (3%) found in most stores, we have touched the foam safely.

The foam just becomes a soapy-yeasty mess that you can rinse down the sink.

WHY DOES HYDROGEN PEROXIDE FOAM?

The reaction between the hydrogen peroxide and the yeast is called an exothermic reaction. You will feel a warmth to the outside of the container because energy is being released.

The yeast helps to remove the oxygen from the hydrogen peroxide creating tons of tiny bubbles that made all that cool foam. The foam is the oxygen, water, and dish soap that you added.