This Science Experiment was really cool. Both kids were fascinated by this. Since they are only 4 and 2 years old, they couldn’t appreciate the reasoning for this, like an older child would. We still had a fun time watching the balloon expand!
*POP ROCKS BALLOON EXPERIMENT
What You’ll Need
Plastic Bottle of soda
Pack of Pop Rocks or a Box of Wonka Nerds (Either will work fine)
Balloon
Funnel
Instructions
Attach a balloon to the bottom of a funnel.
Pour the Pop Rocks or Nerds into the balloon.
Carefully stretch the opening of the balloon to cover the opening of the bottle (DO NOT TO SPILL OUT YOUR CANDY).
Then stand up the balloon and shake the ingredients into the bottle.
Wait and you will see the reaction as your balloon inflates.
Why Does This Happen?
This is what you can explain to your children:
Pop Rocks candy is pressurized carbon dioxide gas. Each of the tiny little candy pebbles contains a small amount of the gas.
The balloon inflates from the carbon dioxide contained in the candy. The candy isn’t enough to start the inflation. The soda will cause this because it is pressurized carbon dioxide gas.
Once you have dropped the candy into the soda, the carbon dioxide gas will cause the balloon to inflate because it has nowhere to go in the bottle.