Every little leprechaun needs a black pot! Try our St Patrick’s Day fizzing science activity with your little leprechauns this month. We love fizzing science experiments for any holiday, and this leprechaun rainbow activity is perfect for an easy to set up and inexpensive St Patrick’s Day science experiment!

Pin

Baking Soda and Vinegar Experiments


A baking soda and vinegar experiment is fantastic for kids’ science projects because it demonstrates a fun chemical reaction in a safe and hands-on way. When baking soda (a base) reacts with vinegar (an acid), it produces carbon dioxide gas, which creates bubbles and causes a foaming reaction.

See all of our favorite baking soda and vinegar experiments here.

This simple experiment teaches kids about the concept of chemical reactions, the properties of acids and bases, and the role of gas production in creating visible changes. It’s engaging, easy to set up with household materials, and sparks curiosity in young minds, making it an ideal choice for science education.

Watch the Video:

Simple Science Behind Rainbow Fizzing Pots

The science behind this fun fizzing experiment is all about a chemical reaction! A chemical reaction occurs when two or more things combine to form a new substance.

When the liquid acid (vinegar) and the solid base (baking soda) are combined, they form a gas called carbon dioxide. The fizzing, bubbling action you see is evidence of the gas, which you can even feel if you put your hand close enough!

Pin

YOU WILL NEED:

  • Baking Soda
  • White Vinegar
  • Food Coloring
  • 6 Small Black Pots (or 1 pot is fine too!)
  • Glitter and Fake Gold Coins (optional)
  • Baster, squeeze bottle or ladle
  • Tray
Pin

HOW TO SET UP ST PATRICK’S DAY EXPERIMENT

STEP 1:  Start by setting out a tray with your six little black leprechaun pots! You can do a rainbow of colors or you can simply set up one pot for this fizzy experiment. 

STEP 2: Next, you want to add food coloring to your pots! You can even throw in some coloring mixing skills here if you have the standard red, yellow, blue, and green liquid food coloring bottles. Alternatively, you can color 6 containers of vinegar that the kids can slowly pour into each pot of baking soda (after step 3 is complete).

Pin

STEP 3: Once the food coloring is added or if you have decided to use separate containers for colored vinegar, go ahead and scoop in baking soda.

Pin

Step 4: Time to observe what happens when you add the vinegar to the pots. Mix up a rainbow of fizzy fun with a simple combination of baking soda and vinegar.

Pin

Pin

ST PATRICK’S DAY RAINBOW POTS IN THE CLASSROOM

For the best eruptions, the ones that make the kids squeal, you want to add a good amount of vinegar at one time. Pouring from a small cup or a full meat baster works best! A small eye dropper will not be as dramatic.

Additionally, you will want to make sure to have extra baking soda and vinegar on hand if you have the time. From my experiences, this baking soda vinegar activity is a real hit, and kids will want to repeat it over and over again.

If you don’t have vinegar, try lemon juice! It’s all about mixing an acid and a base so lemon or lime juice works too for the acid! However, vinegar is more cost-effective.

Another variation to try is baking powder and water as this also produces a bubbling reaction but not as awe-striking! Though, it would be fun to compare and contrast with older kids.

Pin

Introducing the Scientific Method

Here are some easy questions to ask your kids before, during, and after this fun St Patrick’s Day experiment to get them thinking. 

ALSO CHECK OUT: Scientific Method For Kids

BEFORE:

  • What do you think WILL happen to the baking SODA  when you add the vinegar?
  • What do you think you will see? (PREDICTION)

DURING:

  • What can you smell, see, hear, feel or see happening to the baking soda and vinegar in the pots?
  • What does the combination of baking soda and vinegar look like now? (OBSERVATION)

AFTER:

  • What are the bubbles (solid, liquid or gas)?
  • Where do you think the bubbles came from? (EXPLANATION)  

MORE FUN ST PATRICK’S DAY IDEAS

Printable St Patrick’s Day STEM Pack

Get ready to catch a Leprechaun, explore fizzy pots, and dig for gold coin oobleck all while exploring simple science and engineering design process with the St Patrick’s Day STEM Pack!

Over 100 pages of easy to use STEM activities that will make your prep and planning time a cinch! Cheap supplies, easy to set up and clean up, and full of hands-on fun!

  • 25+ St. Patrick’s Day science activities and STEM projects kids that are easy to set up and fit into the time you have available even if it’s limited!

20 Comments

  1. This is a great idea! I have some little cauldrons left from Halloween that would be perfect for this and my kids would love it! Pinning & sharing 🙂

  2. I love how you set this up. The inclusion of the sequins and glitter are just perfect. Thank you for linking up to Discover & Explore. I’m featuring this post today.

  3. I am glad you liked it. It was pretty popular around here too! Thank you for featuring it.

  4. What could be more fun than mixing rainbow colors and fizzing eruptions? Thank you for sharing.

  5. Thank you very much for taking the time to post this, it’s great and I know my grandson is going to love it. I just wanted to clarify something though. You started with this sentence and I’m not clear on what ingredient you’re talking about, I’m assuming it’s the baking soda that you’re referring to. Here it is: “I put about a tablespoon and a half (around there) into each pot and then sprinkled on green glitter (of course) and then color coded each pot with sequins. ” Will you please clarify. Thank you!

  6. This looks like a project my son would love! Thanks for allowing me to share in my St. Patrick’s Day Roundup

  7. This looks like so much fun! Thank you for sharing. I’m curious–how do you clean up after this activity? The baking soda and vinegar are fine to go down the sink, but probably not so much the glitter and sequins. Just wondering! Would love to hear what you did to clean up. tia!

  8. Hi Shauna,

    It depends on how much glitter and sequins I have used. I am sure a few have washed down the drain. I do use a strainer when I have those bigger items like sequins, and then I can scoop out the larger stuff and throw it away.

  9. Pingback: St Patricks Day Chemistry Experiments (that are actually easy to set up!)
  10. Pingback: 20+ St. Patrick's Day Activities for Kids | There's Just One Mommy
  11. Pingback: 49 St. Patrick's Day Crafts for Kids | My Home Based Life
  12. Pingback: St. Patrick's Day Theme - 123 Homeschool 4 Me
  13. Pingback: St Patricks Day STEM and Science Activities for Kids
  14. Pingback: St. Patrick's Day Kids Activities - Domestic Mommyhood
  15. Pingback: St Patricks Day Science Activities and Experiments for Kids STEM
  16. Pingback: 28+ St. Patrick's Day Science Activities for Kids - Glue Sticks and Gumdrops
  17. Pingback: 20 Fun St. Patrick’s Day Science Experiments for Kids
  18. Pingback: Rainbow Science Experiments - Gionacha Products
  19. Pingback: Educational Activities for the Kids | Coosa River Basin Initiative

Comments are closed.