STEM Fizzy Fun for Toddlers - Baking Soda and Vinegar Experiment

STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering and Math - is such a big topic right now. The reality is all of us use elements of these in our day-to-day lives, even if we think we hate math, or can't do science. Humans naturally approach problem-solving from a scientific perspective; we question, we experiment, and we grow our knowledge from personal experiences.

I have plenty of pipettes left over from our Waterfall Pipette Art, and decided to try this fun fizzy science project. It offers plenty of opportunity to discuss the scientific method with even the youngest kiddo, plus color concepts and fine motor skills.

For this project I used -

• A large plastic container
• Four small plastic containers
• Four colors of food coloring
• Vinegar
• Baking soda
• Pipettes
• Plenty of baby wipes

With Tripp on hand to help each step of the way, I poured the baking soda into the large container, then vinegar into the smaller ones. I helped him identify each color as I put food coloring in the vinegar. Then he got to explore, experimenting with the pipettes and the way the vinegar reacted to the baking soda.

He had lots of fun with this activity. At first he was content spraying the baking soda with vinegar and watching the fizz. He also experimented with drawing some colored liquid into the pipette and then adding a different color; he surprised himself by making orange this way from yellow and red.

Next he picked up some baking soda and dropped it into the containers of vinegar. Now, that was fun! From there we put the small containers into the large container so he could experiment with making them overflow and creating lots of fizz.

Here you can see his process of adding color and reacting to the fizz. Click to enlarge. Love it!

Afterwards I put him in the bath with some moisturizing soap, then made sure he was lotioned up. Baking soda can dry out the skin and I didn't want to risk that.

This is definitely an experiment we'll repeat!