AT THE WATER’S EDGE:

It’s almost Halloween — a holiday that was one of my favorites as a kid, because who doesn’t love a day of dressing silly and collecting loads of candy? But I’ve also always loved pumpkins. Pumpkins, squash, gourds — I find all of the colors and shapes fascinating and have enjoyed growing them in my garden as well as shopping local pumpkin patches. We carved Jack ‘o lanterns with friends the other night, which has become a fun annual tradition as we gather our now six children and try to help them each make a pumpkin creation. But, let’s be honest. It’s a great excuse to get together with friends which ultimately turns into moms carving pumpkins for their kids as the kids run off to play and the dads go… wait, where do the dads go? Ah well. It was fun all the same.

I’ve had pumpkins on the mind and have been trying to think of some fun new fall activities for the kids.

I remembered an Exploding Snowman science activity we did a couple years ago and thought it would be fun to adapt that idea and make it a Jack ‘o lantern. It’s essentially vinegar and baking soda mixing in a ziplock bag and eventually popping. It’s simple, fun, science, and a good sensory activity for kids — and you probably have everything you need on hand already.

Here’s What You Need:

• Zip close plastic sandwich or quart size bag
• Permanent markers
• 1 1/2 cups Vinegar
• 3 tsp. Baking soda
• Paper towel
• Yellow and red food coloring (liquid drops)
• Shallow baking dish (to catch the mess!)

Here’s What to Do:

1. Draw a pumpkin and Jack ‘o lantern face on a zip close bag with permanent marker. Use caution if having the kids help with this part!
2. Put three teaspoons of baking soda in a half sheet of paper towel and roll/fold it up, then stick it in the plastic bag.
3. Measure out 1 1/2 cups of vinegar in a large glass measuring cup.
4. Add a few drops of red and yellow food coloring and stir together to turn the vinegar pumpkin orange!
5. Pour the vinegar into the bag and seal it right away.
6. Place the bag into your baking dish, watch as it expands and wait for it to explode! It should take about 30-60 seconds. If it’s not expanding much, give the bag a little shake to make sure the vinegar got to enough of the baking soda.

The Exploding Jack ‘o Lantern

We had a lot of fun with this activity. Since my kids are 5, I drew the outline of a pumpkin for them, as well as the face as they directed what they wanted. I then let them color in their pumpkins — much to my husband’s chagrin—with different color permanent markers.

We did the first pumpkin bag with clear white distilled vinegar. After it popped and we had fizzy vinegar all in our baking dish, I spotted our sensory, fine motor and color learning opportunity! I quick grabbed some pipettes and food coloring and had the kids watch and mix as we put red and yellow in our vinegar to turn it orange. Then we added a bit more baking soda to a small ramekin that they could add vinegar to with the pipettes and watch it fizz. That’s when I realized we should have made our pumpkin with orange vinegar so that’s what we did for exploding pumpkins number two!

Of course, the kids want to know why and how the pumpkins explode so it’s a good chance to explain, at their level, the chemical reaction that takes place. At this age, I basically explained that mixing them causes a chemical reaction and produces carbon dioxide gas that expands within the bag until it creates so much pressure that…POP!

It’s always a bit starling when it pops but it’s fun to watch the bag expand and wait for it! Extra sensory play in the shallow baking dish and color experimentation were bonuses for us today! If you’re looking for a new and interesting activity to do with your kids, give this a try! Make whatever you want on your bag then watch it explode! I’m pretty sure explosion experiments are most kids’ favorite parts of science class.