Ghost Rockets – Day #7
It is here, it is here!
Halloween is finally here, and I know you are probably busy getting ready for the trick or treating tonight…It is our last day of Halloween Week Spooky Science. And we are finishing it with a bang!
Didn’t we have so much fun this week? You can always come back on the blog page and do the experiments again and try different takes on them. It is all up to you and your imagination.
But no more chatting, let’s jump in…
For today's experiment, you will have to go outside. You need space to see your rockets flying. Wait, did I tell you what we are doing? WE ARE MAKING GHOST ROCKETS THAT ACTUALLY FLY!
Okay, I think I got too excited about this. You will too…
Ready? Scared? Go!
Materials:
- Film canisters with lids
- Corn starch
- Warm Water
- Markers
- Alka seltzer
- And a stirring stick
How to?
Start by drawing a ghost face into the film canister. If you feel artsy, you can draw different scary faces on it. Once the drawing has dried, add 1-3 spoons of corn starch to each film canister and fill the film canister with just a little bit of water, something like 1/3 of the canister, and stir it until the starch is dissolved.
Now you go outside.
You will want to set one ghost rocket at a time. Begin by taking a piece of Alka Seltzer and break into smaller pieces. Then, quickly drop the pieces into the canister, put the lid on, flip the rocket over, set it down, step back, and watch the magic happen.
Did the rocket scare you? Cause it certainly scared me!
The science behind it is simple. When the Alka Seltzer is added to the solution with corn starch and water, the solution starts to fizz. And just like our other experiments with the inflating ghost of fizzing eyeballs, this will release carbon dioxide gas, creating a lot of pressure inside the canister. This pressure will keep building up and will push the lid down and the canister up with force. Thrusting it up with speed. That's how rockets are lifted in real life, but the exploding ingredient there is actual rocket fuel (not corn starch and Alka Seltzer hahaha).
It was fun this week. We had explosions, inflating balloons, articulated hands and fizzing eyeballs…A little bit of everything! We learned new stuff while doing science; having fun, and celebrated Halloween!
I hope we get to do this again soon!
And I hope you get a lot of candy today! You deserve them after this fantastic week we had!
‘May this Halloween get more treats; without any spooky tricks!
Lots of pumpkin wishes and the biggest candy corn kisses from me your Spooky Scientist…
Jess
