Chemistry is just stuff bumping into other stuff and changing. Drag things off the shelf into the beaker and see what happens, then try the real thing at home.
🧪 The Mixing Bench
Drag anything off the shelf into the beaker and watch what happens. Some things only react when they meet the right partner.
The shelf
In the beaker
Empty
Drop things in here
pH —
Drag something from the shelf into the beaker.
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Do it for real 🧑🍳
Three experiments using things already in your kitchen. Tap one to see how it works.
🥬1. Red Cabbage Colour DetectiveTurn a cabbage into a colour-changing acid detector. · 15 minHow to ▾Close ▴
You need
A few red cabbage leaves
Warm water from a grown-up
3 clear glasses
Lemon juice, plain water, baking soda
What to do
Soak chopped red cabbage in warm water until it turns deep purple, then strain it.
Pour the purple juice into three glasses.
Add lemon juice to the first, plain water to the second, baking soda to the third.
Watch each glass pick a different colour!
Why it happens: Red cabbage has a pigment called anthocyanin. It changes shape — and therefore colour — depending on how many hydrogen ions are floating around. Lots of them means acid (pink), very few means base (green).
🐘2. Gentle Elephant ToothpasteMake a giant foam snake climb out of a bottle. · 10 minHow to ▾Close ▴
You need
An empty plastic bottle
½ cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide
1 packet of dry yeast + 3 tbsp warm water
1 tbsp dish soap and food colouring
What to do
Pour the hydrogen peroxide, dish soap, and colouring into the bottle and swirl gently.
Stir the yeast into the warm water for 30 seconds.
Tip the yeast mixture into the bottle and step back.
A thick foam snake climbs out of the bottle!
Why it happens: Hydrogen peroxide slowly breaks apart into water and oxygen. An enzyme in yeast called catalase is a catalyst — it makes that happen in seconds instead of weeks. The soap traps the oxygen as foam, and the bottle feels warm because the reaction gives off heat.
🎆3. Magic Milk FireworksOne drop of soap sets a plate of milk swirling. · 5 minHow to ▾Close ▴
You need
A shallow plate
Whole milk
Food colouring in a few colours
A cotton swab and dish soap
What to do
Pour just enough milk to cover the bottom of the plate.
Drop different colours near the middle — do not stir!
Dip one end of the cotton swab in dish soap.
Touch the middle of the milk and hold still. Colours explode outwards.
Why it happens: Milk is water with tiny fat droplets floating in it. Soap molecules have one end that loves water and one that loves fat, so they dash around grabbing fat. That racing breaks the surface tension and drags the colours along for the ride.