Special Occasions Demonstrations
See also: Science Shows
Special occasion demonstrations are created for events such as Halloween, holidays, or end-of-year celebrations. They add excitement and a sense of occasion to science lessons, making them especially memorable when the timing is right.
| Demonstration | Materials | Difficulty | Safety | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry Ice Jack-O-Lantern | ★★★ | ★★☆ | ★★☆ | Placing dry ice and water inside a jack-o-lantern creates thick fog that spills out of its carved face, producing a spooky Halloween effect. |
| Silver Nitrate Christmas Tree | ★★☆ | ★★☆ | ★★☆ | Branching silver crystals are grown on a copper “tree” by immersing the copper in a dilute silver nitrate solution. A single-displacement redox reaction plates metallic silver onto the copper while the solution turns blue from copper(II) ions. |
| Witches Cauldron with Dry Ice Fog | ★★★ | ★★☆ | ★★☆ | This Halloween demonstration uses dry ice and hot water in a cauldron-like container to produce a bubbling fog effect. The sublimation of dry ice creates dense white clouds that spill over the container’s edges, resembling a witch’s cauldron. |
| Bubbling Slime | ★★☆ | ★☆☆ | ★☆☆ | This experiment combines vinegar, xanthan gum, and baking soda to make bubbling slime. The vinegar and baking soda undergo an endothermic chemical reaction, releasing carbon dioxide gas that bubbles through the gooey slime. |
| Easy Heart Pump Model | ★☆☆ | ★☆☆ | ★☆☆ | This demonstration uses a balloon, jar, and straws to create a simple model that mimics how the heart pumps blood through the body. The balloon acts as the heart muscle, and the straws represent blood vessels, showing one-way flow similar to valves in the heart. |
| Glowing Oobleck | ★★☆ | ★☆☆ | ★☆☆ | This Halloween-themed activity creates glowing oobleck that behaves like both a liquid and a solid. Under a blacklight, the quinine in tonic water makes the mixture glow eerily, and when placed on a speaker playing spooky music, the oobleck appears to writhe and dance like a haunted slime. |
| pH Indicator Easter Eggs | ★★☆ | ★☆☆ | ★☆☆ | Eggs are dyed with red cabbage extract, which contains the natural pH indicator anthocyanin. Applying acidic or basic solutions changes the color of the dye, allowing designs, messages, or patterns to be revealed on the eggs. |
| Snowstorm in a Jar | ★★☆ | ★☆☆ | ★☆☆ | Layer a water–paint mixture beneath baby oil and start an acid–base reaction with pieces of effervescent tablet. Carbon dioxide bubbles lift painty water droplets up through the oil; when bubbles burst, the droplets fall like snow. |
Materials
★☆☆ Easy to get from supermarket or hardware store
★★☆ Available in most school laboratories or specialist stores
★★★ Requires materials not commonly found in school laboratories
Difficulty
★☆☆ Can be easily done by most teenagers
★★☆ Available in most school laboratories or specialist stores
★★★ Requires a more experienced teacher
Safety
★☆☆ Minimal safety procedures required
★★☆ Some safety precautions required to perform safely
★★★ Only to be attempted with adequate safety procedures and trained staff