Fun With Dry Ice
The other night the boys and I had a grand old time with some dry ice that I brought home from work, and I’ve got the pictures to prove it… We started out small, just splashing some water on it and watching it “smoke.” We also melted a chunk so the kids could see why it’s called dry ice (there’s no water, duh!). From there, we started to get more creative.
First off, I filled a glass with warm water and a few squirts of dish soap. I then dropped in a small chunk of dry ice while we stood back and watched. The results were very cool — tons of smoke-filled bubbles!
And when you pop ‘em, out comes the smoke…
Next up, the boys wanted to see what happens when you drop dry ice into Diet Coke. As it turns out, this is a great way to make a mess! This picture was taken after I finished cleaning up the Diet Coke that spewed out all over the counter…
Ever wondered what it looks like when you drop dry ice in a glass of Diet Coke and dish soap?
Well, now you know…
After that, the boys wanted to try maple syrup. As you can see from below, syrup is a lot less exciting — just a few smoky bubbles.
After testing maple syrup, the boys wanted to try ketchup. Sadly, ketchup is pretty boring… Since nothing really happened, I didn’t take a picture — had I taken one, it would look suspiciously like a bowl of ketchup. So we then moved on to milk…
And last but not least, we poured it all together and dropped in another chunk of dry ice. That’s right… Water, milk, Diet Coke, dish soap, maple syrup, ketchup, and dry ice…
Mmmmm… Yummy… Isn’t science fun?
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You can make dry ice scream by pressing the flat of a scissor (i.e., one blade) against it. I’m not very clear on the physics thereof, but it screeches!
Comment by Allen K. — Jul 28th 2006 @ 11:12 amGreat stuff. Our son is 7 and we can keep him occupied for hours with just a little bit of vinegar, baking soda, and food coloring. Throw in a few more random items like salt, sugar, flour. It’s a party!
I think you must have been doing this at our house – either that or we have the exact same countertop and sink.
Comment by Lisa — Jul 29th 2006 @ 10:42 amwe did some games at work with dry ice – like putting it inside a glass of water, and than place it in the microwave(almost caused heart attack to the cleaner), or placing a cup with water and dry ice inside a large, sealed plastic bag, to see it explode(gotta take care of the right timing, though; we used a primitive lever as a switch), or just hide a cup of water and dry ice inside the drawer of one of the co-workers, just to see the “smoke” come out gently, gradually getting everybody’s attention…
Comment by zvika — Jul 30th 2006 @ 8:36 amWhatever you do, don’t put dry ice in a sealed container. When it liquifies, the pressure will become enourmous and there will be an explosion. I have the scars to prove it.
Comment by Josh — Aug 2nd 2006 @ 9:22 pm