5 ms·

Don't knock the baking soda volcano. I made one with my son when he was about 7 or 8. There's a little engineering that goes into constructing the paper mache s

Don't knock the baking soda volcano. I made one with my son when he was about 7 or 8. There's a little engineering that goes into constructing the paper mache structure. A little art in painting it to look realistic. Some chemistry in understanding the release of carbon dioxide from acid-base reactions. Then there's the filming/presentation of the project, for a little media savvy. +1 if you can get your hands on some ammonium dichromate for an even more impressive, but more dangerous demonstration. These types of "experiments" are less about teaching science, and more about impassioning a love and interest for science.

skyde 5y ago
"chemistry in understanding the release of carbon dioxide from acid-base reactions." This is exactly the part I think is less important. My goal is not for my kid to learn a subset of chemistry theory from the explanation in a book or some fun experiment. Instead my goal is for them to understand why the human race now have this knowledge. How did the first chemist came up with the theory, how did they verify the theory was correct ... why do we now believe this is how atoms work.