Fun activity also a lesson in chemical reactions

That kitchen chemistry experiment you’ve seen on almost every commercial about home schooling during the pandemic, the one that produces a mammoth amount of colorful foam? Here it is.

It’s adapted from a San Antonio Charter Moms lesson on how to make elephant toothpaste. Just a few ingredients are needed to create the chemical reaction.

Audrey Hagopian, regional director of primary schools for BASES.ed, performs the experiment and explains the science behind it on “Charter Mom Chats,” a program on the organization’s YouTube channel. The lesson also can be downloaded at sachartermoms.com.

The experiment requires adult supervision because it involves hydrogen peroxide. And it can get messy.

The resulting elephant toothpaste is safe to touch, but avoid contact with eyes and face. Cleanup is easy; the foam is safe to wash down the sink.

What you need

Hydrogen peroxide, dish soap, dry yeast, warm water, food coloring, a plastic bottle, a small cup or bowl, measuring cups, a funnel, a pan or other container, an apron or lab coat.

What to do

Set up your workspace by covering the surface with plastic or, better yet, placing the dry, empty plastic bottle in a container or pan to catch spills.

Pour ½ cup of hydrogen peroxide into the plastic bottle, then add a big squirt of dish soap and about five drops of food coloring. Give the bottle a swirl.

In a separate bowl or cup, put three tablespoons of warm tap water. Add one tablespoon, or one packet, of dry yeast to the water. Stir for about 30 seconds or until the mixture resembles the consistency of melted ice cream.

Now the fun begins.

Place the funnel in the opening of the plastic bottle. Carefully but quickly, pour the yeast mixture into the hydrogen peroxide mixture in the bottle.

Watch what happens.

How it works

Mixing yeast with hydrogen peroxide causes a reaction that breaks down the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) into water (H2O) and oxygen (O2) . The escaping gas forms bubbles, which causes the dish soap to foam.

Gorodenkoff / Getty Images / iStockphoto A few ingredients create a massive amount of foam in the elephant toothpaste experiment, which can be carried out in the kitchen as well as the classroom.

Christian Petersen / Getty Images A TBS camera is seen among the cardboard cutout fans at a game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees at PETCO Park.

San Antonio Charter Moms The first step is to set up your workspace because this chemical reaction creates a lot of foam.