Just Add Baking Soda is a wonderful addition to Griddly Games’ “Just Add” Series. With more than 20 art projects and science experiments it’s a perfect combination of creative learning and experimentation. Kids follow the directions to make dough to form around a bottle for a volcano, and stir up water, red food coloring, dish detergent, baking soda and vinegar to watch lava explode out the top! Little scientists are prompted to vary amounts of the lava ingredients and observe how it affects the height and length of the eruption. They are also encouraged to try other specific ingredients to compare and contrast results. I would add that kids should grab a pad of paper and record their observations and conclusions to add some written language practice to this exercise in following directions, critical thinking, problem solving and drawing conclusions, all essential language skills. Finally, at the end of each experiment there is a “Science Lesson,” explaining chemical reactions, states of matter and alkaline. Kids or families can work together to make invisible ink, baking soda eruption prints, fizzy rocks, and even a lava lamp (based on the fact that oil and vinegar do now mix and have different densities affecting which one sinks and which one floats) . After mixing up a batch of baking soda dough, kids can make sea art by rolling out the dough, using the cookie cutter and forming a starfish and sand dollar, then bake, paint and decorate. And if all this STEAM play has worn you out, make some Galaxy Bath Bombs, run a bath and relax!
Available at Griddly Games
