Science Experiments

How To: Make This Amazing 9-Layer Density Tower from Things Found in Your Kitchen

Ralph Waldo Emerson once observed that "the seed of science" was "wonder," and taking a look at this nine-layer liquid tower from Steve Spangler's Sick Science! channel, one can't help but do just that — wonder. How is this possible? Is this magic or what?

How To: Make a crazy foam explosion science experiment

Check out this video to see our Fantastic Foamy Fountain in action. The experiment uses Hydrogen peroxide and dry yeast. Hydrogen peroxide is similar to water but it has an extra oxygen atom. This makes it more dangerous and only adults should handle the hydrogen peroxide.

How To: Make hydrochloric acid from salt

In this tutorial, we learn how to make hydrochloric acid from salt. First, you will pour some salt into a distil flask. After this, you will add in some concentrated sulfuric acid to the salt. Next, you will let these react with each other. You will start to see gasses bubble up and the excess hydrogen chloride gas come out through the top of the tube. To create a stronger reaction, you can add heat underneath the reaction. Then, test this by exposing it to ammonium chloride. If it's the righ...

How To: Make oxygen from permanganate and hydrogen peroxide

C For Chemistry delves into the chemistry of science experiments. This chemist knows what he's talking about. These chemistry experiments are not only fun, but very educational for all of those interested in scientific chemical reactions and properties.

How to Be Your Own SpaceX: Design, Build & Test Liquid-Fueled Rocket Engines

Move over NASA— SpaceX is taking over. Well, not really. But today, the privately funded spacecraft company broke all expectations when their Dragon capsule fell to a soft landing in the Pacific Ocean, completing an undoubtedly successful demo flight of nearly two full trips around Earth. It was the first re-entry of a commercial spacecraft ever, bringing commercial space transportation closer to reality.

How To: Convert sunlight into hydrogen fuel

Want to learn how to harvest the sun? Just watch this science experiment video to see how to convert sunlight into hydrogen fuel. It's simple and environmentally friendly.

How To: Understand how metals react in hydrochloric acid

In this video tutorial the instructor talks about Hydrochloric acid (HCL) and how it reacts to a few metals. To try this out take 30 ml of concentrated hydrochloric acid in a beaker. You need to employ caution while handling acids, especially if you use strong ones. Now you can throw small pieces of different metals into it carefully to see how it reacts with different metals. For instance when this HCL comes in contact with metals various reaction take place depending up on the metal. Like i...

How To: Make hydrogen gas with foil and Liquid Plumr

Learn how to make hydrogen with some household chemicals and items. This experiment is dangerous, so please exercise caution. You will use Liquid Plumr for this science experiment, and be warned, Liquid Plumber and hydrogen are dangerous, maybe not the aluminum foil, but the chemicals, definitely. Fill a balloon with it and watch it explode with a close match.

News: Melt a bottle in your microwave

Some may call this a microwave prank. There won't be much left of the microwave...but what the heck...let's call it science.

How To: The Best Investigatory Projects in Science: 16 Fun & Easy Ideas to Kickstart Your Project

Most of us have conducted an investigatory science project without even knowing it, or at least without knowing that's what it was called. Most science experiments performed, from elementary to high school students and all the way up to professional scientists, are investigatory projects.

How To: Make Your Own Homemade Glow Sticks

Glow sticks, a popular favor at parties and outdoor events, and a must-have on Halloween, can be traced back to the United States Navy in the mid-1960s. The military desired improved visibility during night operations, and glow sticks, with their small-size portability and lack of batteries, were a perfect tactical solution.

Classic Chemistry: Colorize Colorless Liquids with "Black" Magic, AKA the Iodine Clock Reaction

Want to make boring old colorless water brighten up on command? Well, you can control the color of water with this little magic trick. Actually, it's not really magic, but a classic science experiment known commonly as the iodine clock reaction, which uses the reactions between water and chemicals to instantly colorize water, seemingly by command. You can use different colorless chemicals to produce different colors, and you can even make the color vanish to make the water clear again.

How To: Revive a drowned fly

Ever wished you were Jesus? This how-to video can bestow you with life-reviving powers. It's not a trick. See how you can revive a seemingly drowned fly with salt by watching this educational and instructional video. Let the resurrection begin.

News: What Happens When You Mix Coca Cola and Milk

Interesting reaction coke and milk The reaction of phosphoric acid (V) to proteins in the milk - they are cut and causes a precipitate

How To: Make a never ending foam snake

In this video the author shows how to make a never ending foam snake. He starts by speaking about how hydrogen peroxide can be fun. He starts with the requirements first which are a dish soap, a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, some dry yeast, and a red fruit color. Now he fills up a cup with hydrogen peroxide, adds the color and two table spoons of dish soap. Now he shows how to use yeast which is used to remove the oxygen from the hydrogen peroxide. And finally he demonstrates the never ending ...

Make Slime Without Borax: 5 Easy Recipes for Gooey Homemade Ooze

One of the only things I remember from watching Nickelodeon as a kid is the epic green slime. Looking back, I don't know what was so great about it, but every kid my age thought that being drenched in slime would be the coolest thing on earth.

How To: How Do You Balance 14 Nails on a Single Nailhead? Find Out with This DIY Gravity Puzzle

This little brain game is all about engineering a lower center of gravity. The idea has been around forever, but most people still don't know how to do it. Trying to stack nails above the balance point will raise the CG and make the structure unstable. Here's how you can lower the CG to make a very stable structure and impress your friends.

How To: Make potassium nitrate at home

Believe it or not, there are cheap ways to make potassium nitrate for your chemistry experiments. And the key ingredient… "sodium-free" salt.

How To: Use a Peltier module to create free electricity from heat

A Peltier module allows you to turn heat into electricity. Because you can place it in areas that are normally warm anyway, the electricity created is "free" in a sense, though it does work best when one side of the module is cold and the other is hot. In other words, all you'll need for this project is the Peltier module and a cooler surface such as soil or water, and a warm area such as a well lit window or warm pan.

How To: Make chlorine gas with pool chlorine and hydrochloric acid

Chlorine gas is a very useful oxidant, which was first introduced as a toxic weapon by the German Army. Even today, it's still used as a weapon, most recently in the Iraq War by insurgents. But chlorine gas has more useful (and less lethal) applications, and if you want to learn how to make some at home, NurdRage has the answers.

How To: Make Water Freeze into Ice Instantaneously

Have you ever seen water freeze instantly? This "Quick Clip" shows some of my personal experiences with making instant ice using a bottle of water supercooled in a freezer.

How To: Turn a Glass Bottle into an Electric Tornado Machine

We've all seen the classic tornado-in-a-bottle science experiment, which uses 2 two-liter bottles to create a whirlpool effect. This version requires you to get the tornado started yourself by spinning the bottles, but what if you want to make it fully automated?

How To: Make crystal iodine

MAKE brings the do-it-yourself mindset to all the technology in your life. Make Magazine celebrates your right to tweak, hack, and bend any technology to your own will. In this tutorial, Robert Bruce Thompson shows you how to make crystal iodine. As Thompson says in the video, crystal iodine is currently a schedule one compound, and in order to buy you have to fill out a lot of paperwork and you'll end up on a DEA list. This tutorial gets you around that, but proceed carefully.

How To: Mod a Bresser Biolux NG or AL microscope to view larger objects

This free video science lesson from YouTube's bionerd23 demonstrates a simple technique for modding a Bresser Biolux NG or Bresser Biolux AL microscope to view larger objects like minerals. You'll also learn how to mod your microscope to allow you to take pictures and shoot video through it. For all of the relevant details and detailed, step-by-step instructions, watch this home-science how-to.

How To: Galvanize metal objects for rust protection with zinc

Rust protection doesn't have to cost a fortune. With a little zinc and some electricity, you can protect your precious metals from rust by galvanization. When you galvanize something, you're giving it a protective coating, and in this case, it's a zinc coating.

How To: Use red light to preserve night vision when stargazing

Here, you'll see the use of red light to preserve your night vision, in Amateur Astronomy for Beginners - Red Light. Bright lights could make it harder for you to see those stars, so use red light, because the rods in your eyes can take it better.

How To: Make a Monster Dry Ice Bubble

Sure it's been done before, but it never gets old. There's something magical about dry ice, bubbles, and especially the result you see when they're combined!

How To: Build a Simple Paper Bridge as a Science Experiment

Every day we pass bridges, whether it's a foot bridge, a highway overpass, a span over water, or a viaduct over a valley. We pass on these structures without even thinking of the engineering genius that went into their design and construction, let alone the science behind their strength.

How To: Make elemental sulfur (sulphur)

This video tutorial is in the Education category which will show you how to make elemental sulfur (sulphur). The chemicals you need are nitric acid and sodium thiosulphate. The reaction produces toxic SO2 gas so keep it coved with a watch glass. Put 12.9 grams of sodium thiosulphate in a beaker and dissolve it in minimum amount of water. Pour about 15ml of nitric acid in to the beaker. Let it sit in a warm place for a couple of hours and the sulphur will settle at the bottom of the beaker. Th...

How To: Make nitric acid

Watch this science video tutorial from Nurd Rage on how to make nitric acid. They show three ways to make nitric acid based on two different chemical approaches, both of which can be done using easily accessible materials.

How To: Weather Forecast And Weather Predict Without Technology

We have no control on the weather yet it is a part of our lives which influence what we do, what we eat, what we wear and many times where we live. How did people predict the weather before there was the Internet, television, radio or the weatherperson with all of their gadgets?

How To: Make fake blood from iron, chloride, and potassium

In order to make fake blood, for special effects or for Halloween, you will need the following: Potassium Thiocyanate (KSCN), Iron (III) Chloride (FeCL3), which is also known as ferric chloride or may substitute Iron Nitrate (Ferric Nitrate). You will also need water or dihydrogen monoxide.

How To: Make boric acid from borax

This is a video tutorial in the Education category where you are going to learn how to make boric acid from borax. For this experiment you will need borax (disodium tetra borate) and conc. hydrochloric acid. Take 25 ml of hydrochloric acid and dilute it with 75 ml of water. Next take 6 - 7 gms of borax and dissolve it in boiling water. Now add equal amount of hydrochloric acid. Crystals of boric acid will start forming. They are completely insoluble in cold water. After about half an hour, fi...

How To: Measure the volume of a balloon

Here we will demonstrate how to measure the volume of a balloon. A balloon is not a straight edged polygon shape, usually, so the mathematical equations get that much harder, on the flip side, it may be a spherical or ovalish shape, but measurements with math alone are detrimental due to the uneven sizes of the balloon. Here is how to do it properly. You will need a bucket, preferably, to hold water, a larger container than your original bucket, and a measuring container. Place the bucket ins...

How To: Stiffen water with flour and salt

See what happens when you mix a few cooking ingredients into water! This video tutorial will show you the trick to stiffen water with flour and salt. It's a pretty simple trick, and you don't need to be a science genius to do it. Just mix a little salt and flour together, then dump into the pre-boiled water and watch as it hardens completely stiff.

How To: Make Your Own Glowing Green Fluorescein (Fluorescent Dye)

Fluorescent dye can be a great addition for decorating around the house for Halloween, especially for a haunted one. Creating your own fluorescent dye is a simple experiment, as long as you've got the proper chemicals and safety gear. Nurd Rage details the chemical process of creating your own fluorescein below.

How To: Make iodine easily

In this video, we learn how to make iodine easily. You will need potassium iodine and sulfuric acid to make this. First, add the acid into the potassium iodine slowly. After you add in each part, swirl the beaker slowly so it gets mixed together. After you have added in all of the potassium, you will place this into a beaker filled with ice water while you add in more, because the mixture gets really hot. When finished, you will end up with a mixture that is iodine and nothing else. Fill with...

How To: Perform Separation by Decantation in the Chemistry Lab

Find out how everything in a chemistry lab works, from pipettes to burners to recrystallization to storage. You'll get precise instructions on how to work and perform certain scientific duties in the chem lab, whether it's chemical or just ordinary high school science.

How To: Make Vitriol (Sulfuric Acid) Using the Oxidizing & Electrochemical Methods

If you've been following the news lately, you've probably heard of the word "vitriol" being used as a political weapon, with people like celebrity left-winger Jane Fonda blaming conservatives like Sarah Palin for "vitriolic" attacks on Democrats and the "violence-provoking rhetoric of the Tea Party" movement for the recent Arizona shooting.

How To: Determine the density of salt water

Everyone floats in the Dead Sea because the amount of salt in water effects the density. Do a hands-on experiment and practice checking density. Here’s a good science experiment to do in class or at home, if you have access to an electronic balance.