Build Your Own Lava Lamps

Lava lamp science project.

Build your own lava lamps.

A few minutes is usually a good time to leave the inked felt in the alcohol. When the bubbles have stopped dribble a couple drops of food coloring into the bottle. First fill the empty water bottle about 2 3 full with vegetable oil. Fill the rest with water leaving a little of space at the top.

I ll show you two different ways to make your la. The food coloring droplets will fall through the oil and rest on top of the water. How to make the lava lamp. It will sink slowly beneath the oil layer creating lots of bubbles.

You can also add some glitter for some extra bling. Make your own lava lamp instructions. Add about 8 to 10 drops of food coloring. This is a safe and fun science experiment you can do at home or in a classroom.

I just made two different lava lamps using one color for each bottle. Notice that the water sinks below the vegetable oil. Break open an oil soluble marker or pen and place the inked felt into a container of benzyl alcohol. The oil floats on the surface because the water is heavier has a higher density than oil.

It s a lot of fun if you have a group of children and each child can have their own supplies. Fill the bottle two thirds full of oil. Make your own lava lamp. Make an alka seltzer powered lava lamp from science buddies make your own lava lamp from science buddies create underwater fireworks with chemistry from scientific american.

Oil and water just do not mix. Density is the measurement of how compact a substance is how much of it fits in a certain amount of space. Watch what happens to the water with your kids. A lava lamp works because of two different scientific principles density and polarity.

Then add water until there s around an inch remaining at the top. Lava lamps are both mesmerising and beautiful to look at and in this daily dose we re going to make our own. Easy to make lava lamp science experiment. Watch your lava lamp erupt into activity.

Remember that the colors will blend together so be careful of your mix. As the reaction slows down simply add more alka seltzer. The alcohol and oil used in this lamp are flammable and must be treated with care when heating them to get the lava moving. Make this lamp only with adult supervision.

Commercial lava lamps use a proprietary combination of melted waxes.