Fizzing Christmas Tree Science Activity

One of our absolute favorite things to do are fizzy science experiments! My fizzing candy cane activity is a big hit with my kids, so I decided to make a Christmas tree one!

Here’s what you need:

• 1 box of baking soda
• spoonful of green powder tempera paint
• 1-2 cups of vinegar
• red food coloring
• baking sheet
• water dropper or turkey baster

To start out, pour the baking soda in a bowl and stir in a spoonful of green powder paint. (We found that food coloring doesn’t work well and the powder paint worked very well!) Then put it on a baking sheet and use your hands to shape it into a Christmas tree.

Next, pour the vinegar into a bowl and add a few drops of food coloring to make it red. Then set out a water dropper and invite your child to try this experiment.

Explain to your child that they will be use the droppers to squirt red vinegar onto the green baking soda tree. Ask the child to predict what will happen before doing the activity. Then comes the fun part…try it out!

My child LOVED squirting the tree! It’s so much fun to watch it fizz and bubble!

The red food coloring didn’t change the color of our tree, but it was still fun to use Christmas colors.

We used a turkey baster because to squirt, because it held more liquid and my child wanted to try it out. We also tried smaller droppers.

At the end of the experiment, explain that there are bubbles because there’s a reaction between the baking soda and vinegar. When baking soda and vinegar mix, they release carbon dioxide gas, which case bubbles (similar to carbonated drinks!).

We looooved this activity and I’m sure your child will, too!