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Fun with Chemistry: 20 Exciting Chemical Reaction Experiments For Kids

Twenty kitchen-chemistry experiments each list materials, numbered steps, and a plain-language explanation of the reaction involved.
Year groups
Primary
Pages
24
File type
PDF
Preparation
Print ready

Updated Feb 09, 2025

Subject
Chemistry, Science
Topic
Chemistry, Experiment
Resource types
Activities
Preparation
Print ready

From the author

About this resource

Twenty kitchen-chemistry experiments — including a baking-soda-and-vinegar volcano, a balloon inflated by gas from a reaction, a red-cabbage pH colour-change test, an Alka-Seltzer film-canister rocket, and glow-in-the-dark slime — each follow the same format: a materials list, numbered step-by-step instructions, and a short explanation of the chemistry behind the result, written in accessible language for elementary-aged students. A safety page up front requires adult supervision and safety goggles for every experiment, and several individual activities add their own safety notes, such as doing an experiment outdoors or having an adult boil red cabbage ahead of time. Several experiments end with an open discussion prompt asking students why the reaction happened, inviting a spoken rather than written response rather than a graded answer. The book closes with a short conclusion congratulating students on completing all twenty experiments and reinforcing that science is about curiosity and safe exploration. Once students have worked through all twenty chemical reactions, the same hands-on, household-materials experiment format continues in static electricity experiments, moving from chemistry into physics for the same elementary age group.

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

  • Students predict and observe the outcome of a simple acid-base or gas-producing chemical reaction.

  • Students read a plain-language explanation to connect an observed result (fizzing, colour change, inflation) to its underlying chemical cause.

  • Students discuss, in response to open prompts, why a specific reaction produced the result they observed.

Teaching tips

  • Require adult supervision and safety goggles for every experiment, as the book's own safety page instructs, and read each experiment's individual materials list in advance since a few call for items like hydrogen peroxide or a hairdryer.

  • Group experiments that share the same underlying reaction (baking soda + vinegar appears in the volcano, balloon, apple volcano, and popcorn experiments) to reinforce that one chemical principle explains several different demonstrations.

  • Use the built-in discussion prompts (for example, in the invisible-ink and fizzy-citrus experiments) as a quick verbal check for understanding before moving to the next activity.

Skills covered

  • Chemical reaction observation — students carry out simple acid-base and gas-producing reactions and observe the physical result.

  • Cause-and-effect science reasoning — students connect an observed effect (bubbles, colour change, inflation) to the chemical explanation given for each experiment.

  • Safety practices in hands-on science — students follow materials and step lists that build in adult supervision and protective equipment.

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Resource details

Concepts & topics

Core concepts

  • Chemical reactions

  • Acids and bases

  • Gas production

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