January At-Home STEAM Activity: Exploding Snowman

This January, let’s create an exploding snowman! 

This outrageously fun exploding snowman is a winter science experiment for kids of all ages. This exploding snowman experiment is a super simple chemical reaction experiment using common materials you already have in your kitchen!

Materials

• White vinegar 
• Baking soda
• Resealable sandwich bag 
• Paper towel 
• Measuring cup and spoons
• Blue food coloring (optional)
• Bowl or tray to put bag in 
• Black and orange sharpie or construction paper to make snowman face 

Procedure

1. Make a snowman face on your bag.
2. Put 3 teaspoons of baking soda into a paper towel and fold it into a pouch, place it into the bag.
3. Place 1 or 2 drops of blue food coloring into 1 cup of vinegar. Watch what happens to the drops. This process is called diffusion. Diffusion is the process of molecules moving from a concentrated area to a less concentrated area until the molecules are evenly spread. Diffusion can occur in all states of matter but happens frequently in liquids and solids because their molecules have more space to move around.  
4. Quickly pour the vinegar mixture into the bag and seal it. 
5. Watch as the chemical reaction begins and the bag fills with carbon dioxide. 
6. Wait for the boom!!!

The Science Behind the Fun

The reaction is known as an ‘Acid-Base’ reaction. Baking soda is a base, and vinegar is an acid. Vinegar isn’t just an acid, it is an acid in water, which is important. The water in the vinegar acts as a host when the base and acid react. During the reaction, when the baking soda is mixed with the vinegar, the baking soda (Base) takes a proton from the vinegar (Acid). The reaction causes the baking soda to transform into water and carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide is a gas which is released during the reaction, which gives it the bubbling effect, and it expands, which will blow up the bag!