How to Make Color Mixing Eruptions with Baking Soda and Vinegar

Exploring with baking soda and vinegar is probably one of our favorite activities. We took it further with some color. We had food coloring on hand from making diy slime for Halloween so we created colorful erupted volcanoes, then a witches brew in the end.

Of course they enjoy baking soda and vinegar eruptions many times with our "car washes" as you see here...

But this was the first time they witnessed color mixing reactions.

Okay..

HOW TO MAKE COLORFUL VOLCANOES

Supplies:

• baking soda
• vinegar
• dish soap (optional)
• food coloring or liquid water color paint
• various containers-at least four small containers for the baking soda and color vinegar and one larger container to catch the colorful overflow

First we added our food coloring to our vinegar into two separate glasses. I didn't use exact measurements because we already understood how vinegar reacts to a lot of baking soda. We used their choice in colors, blue and yellow.   

I was generous with the baking soda for each glass so we can pour their colored vinegar more than once. 

I also added a drop of dish soap on top of the baking soda in each glass. It's not necessary but it creates bubbly, foaming eruptions. 

Before letting my oldest pour the colored vinegar into the baking soda, I asked him what he thinks will happen after pouring the colored vinegar into the glasses.

Yes. Explosions! The volcanoes erupted.

I was also wondering if he knew what color it was going to make when both colors blended. I love how foamy the added soap makes the reactions.

But wait here are their reactions to it all. I tried so hard to capture their excited faces. Yes I know, my photography skills are so bad but the expressions are priceless. Overjoyed.

Eventually he realized what I was asking and predicted that as the two volcanoes erupted and overflowed the colors would blend into..

Bahaha... A green, turquoise witches brew! Magnificent.

My youngest really had her fun at this point. Stirring it all up and popping the bubbles as she giggled and screamed.

One thing I love about this experiment is that the colors don't fully mix in the beginning. As you can see in the above pictures, there is yellow, green and blue in the dish.

I love the vibrant colors and all the reactions that took place in this one. Try this experiment with your kids and see what reactions you get!