Can you hear science? You bet! We have 5 senses that make us who we are and one is the sense of hearing. We explored our sense of hearing with an invitation to explore pop rocks science. What liquids make pop rocks pop the loudest? We tested a variety of fluids all with a unique viscosity. Grab a few packs of pop rocks and don’t forget to taste them too! That’s the most fun way to hear pop rocks science!
Exploring Viscosity With A Pop Rocks Science Experiment
Have you ever tried pop rocks? They are pretty cool to taste, feel, and hear! I chose to use these for our hear science activity for the awesome Summer STEAM camp series we have been a part of this summer. Make sure to check out our Kaleidoscope for see science, our citrus chemical reactions for smell science, our edible slime for taste science, and our easy non newtonian fluid activity for feel science!
Ingredient for exploring viscosity with pop rocks science:
Pop Rocks!
We used three different packets for a few different colors.
Liquids including water, oil, and corn syrup.
Baking soda dough and vinegar.
To make baking soda dough, mix baking soda with a small amount of water until a packable dough begins to form. Do not make it to wet! Use vinegar to make it fizz and bubble with pop rocks. Check out our 10 Unique Baking Soda Science Ideas
Cornstarch Non-Newtonian fluid an easy 2 ingredient recipe here.
Homemade Slime: Use our super easy homemade recipe for great science on its own!
We were so excited to explore this pop rocks science experiment. Listen closely! Which fluid pops the loudest? We started with our slime, baking soda dough, and cornstarch non-newtonian fluid. Our slime was the winner followed by the cornstarch mixture, and then the baking soda dough.
The thicker the fluid the greater the viscosity.
The less viscous the fluid, the more the pop rocks popped.
As pop rocks dissolve they release a pressurized gas called carbon dioxide which makes the popping noise! Read more about the patented process of pop rocks. The less viscous the substance for dissolving the pop rocks the greater the pop. Those fluids with a higher water content yielded better results. Oils and syrups did not allow for much of a pop as it takes a while for things to dissolve in these viscous liquids. Check out a simple candy dissolve science activity.
This pop rocks science experiment exploring the sense of hearing makes a neat messy sensory play activity as well. Get your hands involved, mix things up, squish the pop rocks! Do they pop louder. Explore, experiment, and discover with pop rocks science and your sense of hearing!
I am pretty sure he enjoyed eating them the best! His second favorite was adding small scoops to water!
Slime, Non-Newtonian Fluids, and Chemical Reactions all in one invitation to explore.
Have you ever tried pop rocks? They make for a cool science experiment that explores viscosity and the sense of hearing.
Pop Rocks Science for Exploring Viscosity.
Make sure to check out all the Hear STEAM activities this week and catch up on the other weeks too!
STEAM for the Senses. Click on pictures for details.
Ana says
What a fun idea!
Sue Lively says
Looks like you guys had fun with this! Great science learning as well!
Christina @There's Just One Mommy says
What a fun and creative experiment!
My kids have just recently discovered Pop Rocks. I never thought of how we could use them for science. Now I’m going to get those wheels turning to think of some new ideas.
So fun!