Even though my children have never seen a real lava lamp, they still had fun observing  the oil, water and bubbles!

Prior to this activity, it is fun to explore how oil and water don’t mix together.

Materials: Tall Glass, Vase or Water Bottle, 1 cup of Water, Oil, Alka Seltzer, Food dye

Step 1: Add color to your cup of water by dropping a few drops of your favorite color of food dye.

Step 2: Fill your  glass 3/4 filled with oil. Add your colored water on top of the oil. Be sure to leave at least an inch of space empty at the top of your vase otherwise, it will bubble over.

Step 3: Break the Alka-seltzer into four pieces and drop them in the vase one piece at a time. Predict what you think will happen.

Step 4: Observe what happens.

Step 5: This is optional but fun! To turn it into a lava lamp, take your glass to a dark room and shine a flashlight under the glass. How does that change the look?

Compare and contrast to how a traditional lava lamp works.

Activity Extension: Draw what happened when you dropped the Alka-seltzer into the oil and water.