Have you ever turned the art of dyeing Easter eggs into a simple science experiment? We love science experiments that produce colorful reactions – and you all know that baking soda and vinegar experiments are our jam! π So why not combine one of our favorite experiments, with a dozen hard-boiled eggs, to create some incredible Fizzing Easter Eggs?!?
If you’ve been following us for awhile, you know that we create a Fizzing Rainbow every March, in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. And this year we took our rainbow game to a whole new level with an Erupting Rainbow! Needless to say, we are fascinated by the fizzing magic that occurs when baking soda and vinegar come together. So…when I came across these fabulous Volcano Eggs, over on Playdough to Plato, I knew it was an egg-dyeing process that we simply had to try!
What we loved the most about these Fizzing Easter Eggs, is the fact that our little nugget had full autonomy over the entire process! She measured out ingredients and mixed up her various colors of paint, painted the eggs, and then dunked them (one by one) into the vinegar! And as you might have guessed, she was on cloud nine the entire time! π
I never would have dreamed of creating paint out of baking soda and liquid watercolors, but I’m incredibly thankful that we stumbled across this marvelous idea!
Fizzing Easter Eggs
Supplies:
- Hard-Boiled Eggs (with white shells)
- Small Cups/Jars
- Baking Soda
- Liquid Watercolors (food coloring also works)
- Water
- Paintbrush
- White Vinegar
- Drinking Glass
- Tray/Rimmed Baking Sheet
- Paper Plates (optional)
- Large Whisk (optional)
- Plastic Tablecloth (optional)
Step One: Mixing Up the Baking Soda Paint
- First, decide how many different colors of paint you want to use. You will need one small cup/jar per color. We decided to make every color of the rainbow (shocker!) so we used six small cups.
- Have your kiddos measure approximately 2 tablespoons of baking soda into each cup (the measurements do not need to be exact).
- Now it’s time to add a couple squirts of liquid watercolor (or food coloring) – one color per cup.
- Working with one cup, add a little bit of water at a time. Mix the ingredients together (adding more water, as necessary) until the baking soda paint forms a paste-like consistency.
- Repeat the process for the remaining cups of paint.
- Once all of your colors are ready, it’s time to start painting!
Step Two – Painting the Eggs
- Feel free to lay a plastic tablecloth down, to help contain any excess baking soda paint.
- Grab an egg and a paintbrush. Paint each egg with the baking soda paint, making sure to coat each egg with a nice thick layer. Thicker Paint = Bigger Reactions!
- We suggest painting all of your eggs before moving on to step three. This allows the baking soda paint to dry a bit, before being submerged in vinegar.
- Once you are done painting each egg, simply transfer it to a paper plate to dry.
- When every single egg is coated…it’s time to let the fizzing fun begin!
Step Three – Fizzing Easter Eggs in Action
- When your eggs are all coated in colorful baking soda paint, it’s time to setup your fizzing station! Grab your tray/rimmed cookie sheet (to contain any overflowing liquid). Fill a drinking glass with white vinegar and place it in the center of your tray.
- We find that it is easier for little ones to use a large whisk to dye Easter eggs (as opposed to trying to gently lower the eggs in, and scoop them back out, with a spoon). Pop a painted egg into the center of a large whisk and prepare for dipping!
- Have your kiddos set the egg-filled whisk down into the glass of vinegar. Sit back and watch the fizzing magic happen!
- Once the vinegar has stopped bubbling, remove the whisk from the glass. “Oh and Ah” over the beautiful dyed Easter egg!
- Gently remove the egg from the whisk. Transfer the egg to a paper towel, to dry completely.
- Repeat the above process for the rest of your painted eggs – refilling the glass of vinegar, as necessary.
When all of our eggs had been dyed, we noticed that a few of them were still pretty light in color. We wanted them to be a bit more vibrant, so we plopped them (one at a time) into a cup of leftover baking soda paint. We transferred the cup over to our tray, and proceeded to fill the cup with vinegar, to create another magical reaction! π The end result was exactly what we wanted!
I mean, you might as well use up all of that baking soda goodness! Our little nugget made sure to utilize every drop of baking soda paint…even after all of the eggs had been dried and placed in the refrigerator. She used her fingers to scoop every last bit of colored baking soda out of the small cups and into the tray of residual vinegar. And then, she would sit back and watch it bubble and fizz.
When all of the baking soda was gone, she filled a cup with colored vinegar and poured it into an empty cup…filling and pouring to her heart’s content. Our daughter loves turning a science experiment into a sensory exploration! And I love her creativity!
Do your kiddos love baking soda and vinegar experiments? Then they are going to love making some Fizzing Easter Eggs of their very own! π
For more fabulous and fun baking soda and vinegar experiments, make sure to check out our Lemon Volcanoes, and our Baking Soda & Vinegar Balloon Experiment!
HAPPY EASTER!Β
