Elephant Toothpaste Day

Today we did an exciting Science experiment! We mixed yeast, food colourant, dishwashing liquid and Hydrogen Peroxide in a bottle - what exciting results!  The foam just bubbles out! The kids were enraptured by the experiment.

Here is what happens:

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) naturally breaks down into water and oxygen.  It is stored in opaque containers to help slow down this process.  Catalase (an enzyme in all living things, including yeast) speeds up the reaction.  Dish soap catches the oxygen and makes bigger bubbles and the food coloring makes it look cool.  The foam and bottle feel warm afterwards because the reaction is exothermic.

The foam is safe to touch…it is just water, oxygen and soap. 

We have a cutting station at the moment, where the children can practice holding and using scissors. We are using little plastic scissors to cut playdough with. The kids make either little snakes or pancakes with their playdough and then snip away. Cutting is a tricky but very gratifying skill to master. Our little ones are tackling this new challenge with great fervor! They are still using both hands to use the scissors and the concentration on their faces is priceless! Constantia and Shasmida are showing them how to use the scissors correctly at the start of every session, but they are allowed to use their own problem solving skills to cut that dough!