WEST MICHIGAN — Looking for a fun experiment to do with students, kids, or people of all ages? We have the experiment for you ... screaming squash! In this experiment, we'll be combining ingredients to make a fun chemical reaction. You can do this with squash in the spring, watermelon in the summer, or even pumpkins in the fall. No matter the fruit or vegetable, this experiment can bring a smile to your face!
Meteorologist Haleigh Vaughn visited Mr. Ablao's and Mrs. Salvatore's 6th-grade science classrooms at Mattawan Middle School to share how the science of a chemical reaction can be fun ... and silly!
Looking to do this experiment at home? Here's what you'll need:
1. Carved cantaloupe, squash, pumpkin, watermelon, or whatever large fruit or vegetable that you can carve!
2. Baking soda
3. Vinegar
4. Food coloring
5. Dish soap
6. Foil pan
Here's what to do:
Step 1: Carve your cantaloupe, pumpkin, or watermelon. (Preferably into a face!)
Step 2: Fill your squash with a healthy amount of baking soda.
Step 3: Mix food coloring, dish soap, and vinegar in a side cup.
Step 4: Place your squash in a foil pan.
Step 5: Pour your mixture of food coloring, dish soap, and vinegar into the squash.
Step 6: Sit back and watch!
The chemical reaction creates a crazy cantaloupe, screaming squash, a puking pumpkin, or a wacky watermelon ... oozing the mixture of baking soda, food coloring, dish soap, and vinegar out of the mouth of the carved vegetable or fruit.
This is a classic chemical reaction that creates carbon dioxide bubbles. You can even work on creating your scientific hypothesis and see what you think will happen if you try this experiment without adding dish soap to the mixture ... or using lemon juice instead of vinegar. You could also hypothesize how much of each ingredient will make a bigger reaction.