17 Easy Science Experiments You Can Do with Items from Your Pantry

Ready to turn your kitchen into a mad scientist’s lab? Grab those goggles (or swim goggles, no judgment here), and let’s make some magic happen with stuff you’ve already got lying around!

1. The Exploding Bag Trick

Okay, this one’s a crowd-pleaser! Grab a zip-lock bag, some vinegar, and a bit of baking soda. Put the baking soda in a small tissue, pour some vinegar in the bag, drop in the tissue, seal it quickly, and watch that mixture inflate like your husband’s ego when he assembles IKEA furniture without the instructions.

Just make sure you’re doing this outside unless you want to explain to your partner why the kitchen ceiling is dripping.

2. Dancing Raisins

This one’s so simple, it’s almost criminal. Fill a clear glass with clear soda (sprite works great) and drop in a few raisins. 

Watch as they bop up and down like they’re at a tiny raisin rave. My kids were so mesmerized, that I managed to sneak in a whole load of laundry without them noticing. Science AND stealth productivity? Yes, please!

3. Colorful Milk Explosion

Pour some milk into a shallow dish, add a few drops of different food coloring, then touch the center with a cotton swab dipped in dish soap. The colors will shoot outwards like they’re running from vegetable night. It’s like a tie-dye shirt thrown up, in the best possible way.

4. Invisible Ink

Channel your inner spy with this one. Write a message with lemon juice on white paper using a cotton swab. Once it dries, it’s invisible! To reveal the message, hold it up to a light bulb (carefully, please, we don’t need any accidental pyrotechnics). My kids use this to leave me secret notes, usually asking for more screen time. Nice try, kiddos.

5. Tornado in a Bottle

Fill a clear plastic bottle almost to the top with water. Add a squirt of dish soap, and some glitter if you’re feeling fancy (and brave), then seal it tight.

Flip it upside down and swirl it in a circular motion. Voila! You’ve got yourself a mini tornado. It’s all the excitement of a storm without the property damage.

6. Homemade Lava Lamp

Remember those groovy lava lamps from the 70s? Here’s a quick DIY version. Fill a clear bottle 1/4 full with water, then fill the rest with vegetable oil. Add some food coloring and drop in half an Alka-Seltzer tablet. Watch the “lava” bubble up! It’s like a mood ring for your kitchen counter.

7. Walking Water

Grab three glasses, fill the outer two with water (add food coloring to make it more visible), and leave the middle one empty.

Place a paper towel strip with one end in each glass, forming an upside-down U shape. Over time, the water will “walk” up one paper towel and down into the empty glass. It’s like magic, only better because it’s science!

8. Elephant Toothpaste

This one’s messy but oh so worth it. Mix warm water, yeast, and dish soap in a bottle, then add hydrogen peroxide. Stand back and watch the foamy “toothpaste” erupt! Just maybe do this one outside unless you enjoy scrubbing ceilings.

9. Crystal Garden

Mix equal parts water and Epsom salt in a jar, then add a few drops of food coloring. Pour this over porous rocks in a shallow dish. As the water evaporates, crystals will form, creating a mini crystal garden. It’s like growing your own geode, minus the million years of waiting.

10. Oobleck

This non-Newtonian fluid will blow your mind. Mix cornstarch and water until you get a substance that’s liquid when you hold it but solid when you apply pressure. The name comes from a Dr. Seuss book, but the fun comes from watching your kids try to figure out if it’s solid or liquid.

11. Balloon Rocket

Thread a straw onto a long piece of string tied between two points. Blow up a balloon but don’t tie it, then tape it to the straw. Let it go and watch it zoom across the room! It’s like NASCAR for people who prefer their races quieter and less oval.

12. Density Tower

Layer different colored liquids in a clear glass based on their density. Try honey, dish soap, water, and vegetable oil. Drop in small objects and see where they settle. It’s like a science experiment and modern art had a baby.

13. Magic Milk Paper

Dip white paper into milk, then let it dry. When you write on it with a cotton swab dipped in lemon juice, the writing turns brown! It’s like those old parchments in treasure hunt movies, only less likely to lead to cursed gold.

14. Jumping Pepper

Sprinkle pepper on the surface of water in a dish. Touch the center with a cotton swab dipped in dish soap. Watch the pepper “jump” away! It’s like you’ve suddenly developed pepper-repelling superpowers.

15. Naked Egg

Soak an egg in vinegar for 24 hours. The shell will dissolve, leaving a “naked” egg with just the membrane. It’s translucent and bouncy- like a weird, egg-shaped stress ball. Just don’t try to eat it, trust me on this one.

16. Color-Changing Celery

Get ready for a veggie makeover that’ll make your kids actually excited about celery! Grab a few stalks of celery (leaves intact), some food coloring, and a few clear glasses. Fill each glass with water and add different food coloring to each.

Now, trim the bottom of your celery stalks and plop one in each glass. Over the next few days, watch in awe as the celery plays drinking straw, sucking up the colored water and distributing it throughout its leaves and stalk.

It’s like giving celery a rainbow makeover! This isn’t just cool to look at – it’s a sneaky way to teach kids about plant transpiration. Plus, it might actually convince them to eat a vegetable. Maybe.

17. Homemade Ice Cream in a Bag

Who needs an ice cream maker when you’ve got biceps and a will for frozen treats? This experiment is a win-win: you get a workout AND a reward at the end! In a small zip-lock bag, mix milk, sugar, and vanilla.

Seal it tight (double-bag it if you’re paranoid like me). Now, place this bag inside a larger zip-lock filled with ice and rock salt. Get your groove on and shake that bag like it’s a maraca and you’re in a salsa band. After about 5 minutes of vigorous shaking (or when your arms feel like noodles), voila! 

You’ve got homemade ice cream. It’s like magic, only tastier and with more upper-body toning. Pro tip: Let the kids do the shaking. They burn energy, you get ice cream. Parenting win!

Kitchen Science: Where Messes Meet Miracles

Remember, the kitchen’s not just for cooking anymore – it’s your new science lab! These experiments aren’t just fun, they’re sneaky learning opportunities. So go forth and make some messes… I mean, memories! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go explain to my husband why there’s a tornado in our water bottle.