Bicarbonate of soda experiments for kids
Bicarbonate of soda is the star of kitchen science. Mix it with something acidic and it fizzes, foams and blows up balloons, which is a child's first look at a chemical reaction. These experiments all use bicarb from the baking shelf and are safe to do at the kitchen table.
6 projects to try
Mummified Apple Experiment
Children test how the ancient Egyptians preserved mummies by burying apple slices in salt and bicarbonate of soda for a week. The salts draw water out of the apple, and without water the things that cause rot cannot grow. It is a real fair test with measuring and recording.
Bubbling Cauldron Potion
Mixing bicarbonate of soda with vinegar makes a gas called carbon dioxide, and a squirt of washing-up liquid traps it in bubbles so the potion foams up and over the cauldron like a witch's brew.
Homemade Fizzy Lemonade
Baking soda reacts with the lemon's acid to make bubbles — you're carbonating your own drink.
Fizzy Sherbet Sweets
Citric acid and baking soda are dry until they hit the wet on your tongue — then they fizz (that same gas reaction!).
Bottle-Top Volcano
A chemical reaction: an acid (vinegar) and a base (baking soda) make carbon dioxide gas, which is the fizzy foam.
🔒 PremiumRed Cabbage Colour Changer
Red cabbage juice is a natural indicator - it turns pink in acids and blue/green in alkalis.