MELTING SNOWMAN ELEPHANT TOOTHPASTE EXPERIMENT

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Do you remember our cool Elephant Toothpaste Science Experiment for kids?

You might recall the fun seasonal Halloween twist we created with our recent Pumpkin Elephant Toothpaste Experiment. 

My son Kian whose favorite subject is science has been sharing how kids can get in on the STEM learning fun by creating their own science experiments at home! Check out his Bubble experiment and Skittles Candy experiment.

Kian is excited to share another seasonal twist with the holidays coming and came up with this amazing Melting Snowman Elephant Toothpaste Experiment!

 

This Melting Snowman Elephant Toothpaste is such a jolly holiday winter science experiment for kids.

Scroll all the way down to watch the video below for the step-by-step video in how to create this cool Melting Snowman Elephant Toothpaste Science Experiment and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more fun videos!

MELTING SNOWMAN ELEPHANT TOOTHPASTE – MATERIALS:

(NOTE: this is based on using a paper lantern approximate 10″ tall, so we doubled the original amount used in our original Elephant Toothpaste Science Experiment. We tried it without doubling first but it wasn’t enough to have foam come out and over the lantern! You will want to adjust your recipe ratio based on your lantern size)

• 1 cup of Hydrogen peroxide*
•  Two packet of dry yeast (one packet is approximately 1/4 oz)
• 6 Tablespoons warm water
• A cylinder (at least 500 ml)
• 2 tablespoons of dish soap (any will do)
• A funnel
• Safety goggles (optional but recommended)
• White paper lantern (approximately 10″ tall)
• Black felt
• Orange felt or orange cardstock
• Red felt 
• Scissors
• Glue
• White bowl that holds your lantern

*We used 30 volume hydrogen peroxide with has 9% hydrogen peroxide available in beauty supply stores as “hair developers.” Most recipes call for at least 6% (20 volume) for a good foam reaction. The ones you get at the drug stores, won’t be as foamy as they are 3% but you can still try it with younger kids for safety. In our past elephant toothpaste experiments we have used a higher concentration, 40 volume, but this time we used 30 volume because that is all our local beauty supply store had at the time.

Just remember, the lower percentage of hydrogen peroxide, the less foam and lift you will get. We do not recommend a concentration higher than 40 volume for safety. As always, please have parents supervise all science experiments with kids. 

**Hydrogen peroxide can burn and irritate skin so please only have adults pour and handle this step. 

INSTRUCTIONS:

Step 1. Make your melting snowman out of a paper lantern. This is super simple. Just cut two black felt eyes and glue them on. Cut an orange nose triangle from orange felt or cardstock and glue on. Cut 6 small black felt dots for the mouth. We also cut out a festive red scarf, added fringes and glued to our lantern.

We chose to place our lantern on top of a white bowl to make it look more like a snowman but also to capture all the foam and liquid as the lantern has a hole in the bottom as well as top.

Step 2. Place your cylinder inside the lantern. Just hook one of the lantern hooks to the cylinder’s side to keep the lantern upright (see photo below)

Step 2. Have your child add 2 tablespoon of dish soap into the cylinder.

Step 3. Have an adult pour the hydrogen peroxide into the cylinder. 

Step 4. Empty your yeast into a small bowl and add the warm water. Mix well with a fork for 3o seconds.

Step 5. Pour the yeast mixture into the cylinder, step back and watch the foamy magic happen! DON’T TOUCH THE FOAM AS IT’S AN EXOTHERMIC REACTION AND IS HOT! After several minutes, it does cool down. 

The foam does dissipate from its lofty volume rather quickly in minutes and after several minutes, is not hot to the touch. However, to be extra cautious, please don’t have children touch and play with the foam in case all the hydrogen peroxide has not broken down from the catalyst (yeast).

Isn’t this the coolest winter holiday science experiment? If you don’t have snow around you, this is a great way to experience making your own melting snowman!

When you are done, you can simply rinse out all ingredients in the sink as they are safe to drain.

So what’s the science behind this awesome elephant toothpaste?

Hydrogen peroxide is composed of water and oxygen. The yeast is a catalyst that takes the oxygen away from the hydrogen peroxide which then gets trapped by dish soap from lots of bubbles!

Have you tried making elephant toothpaste with kids? If not we highly recommend this fun and wow-inducing science experiment with kids!

Lots more fun Holiday ideas here.

Watch the process video below of how to make this amazing Melting Snowman Elephant Toothpaste with kids below!