DIY Bath Bombs: Beaker Creatures Style!

Patria Lincoln Posted On Jun 21, 2018 | STEM

Ever wonder how we make our Beaker Creatures pods so fizzy and fun?? Check out this awesome DIY experiment with erupting results! Make your own bath bomb and find out the science behind how it works with our friends the Beaker Creatures!

You will need:

1 cup baking soda

1/2 cup citric acid

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup Epsom salt

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp. essential oil

1 or 2 tsp water

Food coloring

Bath bomb mold

Measure out all of the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

Combine the oils and the food coloring in a separate bowl and mix well. Slowly add this mixture to the dry ingredient bowl.

The texture of the mixture should clump and feel like wet sand. Add the teaspoons of water until you get this texture. Only add the amount of water necessary until the mixture clumps ( you may not use all 2 teaspoons).

Put some oil on the inside of the bath bomb molds and pack the mixture firmly into the molds.

Let dry for 24 hours (waiting is always the hard part!)

Gently take the bombs out of the molds. Throw them in the bath and watch them erupt with color!

If you want to make a bath bomb with your own creature inside, hide a toy in the mixture while it is still wet. When the bomb dissolves, the kids will have a fun surprise, just like Beaker Creatures! Don't forget to check out all the cool sets we have to get the Beaker Creatures out of their pods!

The science behind it:

When baking soda and citric acid are mixed together and then put in the bath, they start a chemical reaction! The reaction makes a lot of bubbles which are made out of carbon dioxide gas. It is totally safe and makes for lots of fizzles and fun!

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Bright Science! DIY Layers of the Sun Craft

Is it getting hot in here? Since those Firelytes love the heat, we thought we’d go an adventure with them to the hottest spot in our galaxy: the SUN!

The Sun is a spot of constant fascination for scientists and space-lovers alike. On August 12, 2018, NASA launched the historic Park Solar Probe. Its mission is to revolutionize our understanding of the Sun. Parker will be able to travel through the Sun’s atmosphere, closer to it than any spacecraft before!

The hope is that Parker will be able to provide humanity with the closest-ever observations of a star.Before we get into what Parker is looking for, let’s have the Firelytes describe to us all the parts of the sun. The sun accounts for 99.86% of our solar system, and is made up of the gases hydrogen and helium. It is so big that one million Earths could fit inside it. Wow! It is made up of several layers that help us understand its makeup, so let’s take a look. Take it away, Firelytes!

Layers of the Sun

Core

Erupto says: The Sun’s core is about 200,000 miles across and takes up about one quarter of the Sun’s size. The temperature inside is about 15 million degrees Celsius. The core is tightly packed, which creates an environment for nuclear reactions to occur.

Radiative Zone

Hearther says: The radiative zone is just outside the core and generates energy by nuclear fusion. Both the core and radiative zone spin differently than the rest of the sun. This energy produced is in the form of photons, or particles of light or radiation.

Convective Zone

Chark Says: A thermometer would read 15 million degrees Celsius in the convective zone of the Sun. Energy created from the radiative zone is transported through here by radiation and conduction.

Photosphere

Blazer says: The photosphere is the visible surface of the sun. It is what we see on Earth. Light is radiated from the photosphere’s surface.

Chromosphere

Magmunch says: Temperatures at the Sun’s chromosphere are about 4,000 degrees Celsius. This is the layer that emits the sun’s reddish color only visible during eclipses.

Corona

Twotorch says: The Sun is surrounded by a “jacket of gases” called an atmosphere. The outermost later is corona. It is usually not visible because of the Sun’s bright light, but can be seen by a total solar eclipse.

Now back to Parker, the NASA’s space probe currently making its way around the Sun. For the first time, Parker will be able to gather data from the corona, hoping to deepen scientists’ understanding of the origin and evolution of solar wind. The neatest part? Parker will be able to give information to NASA’s ability to forecast changes in Earth’s space environment that will affect life and technology here on our planet. Sun NASA

Parker will hurtle around the Sun at 430,00 mph.

How fast is that? Well, fast enough to get from Philadelphia to Washington D.C. in one second!

And what about the heat? Parker’s outer solar shield will be up against temperatures of about 2,500 degree Fahrenheit, but inside the probe it will stay a comfortable room temperature. The Sun is the only star we can study up close. As the source of light and heat for the Earth, the more scientists study it, the more we can understand how life on Earth developed. Solar wind, or the flow of gases from the Sun, can cause disturbances in the Earth’s magnetic field. All good stuff to find out – Parker is going to help scientists do it.