Eruptions with Kool Aid and Paint

Kool Aid Eruptions

The other day we invited some friends over and had a Kool Aid themed play date.  Is it any surprise that the favorite activity for the day was watching the Kool Aid eruptions?  The children were fascinated as the Kool Aid bubbled over the containers and into the bin.  As I mentioned in the play date post no vinegar was needed to make Kool Aid eruptions.  You can see exactly how we made the eruptions and other ideas for Kool Aid play here.  Knowing that the citric acid in Kool Aid reacts with sodium bicarbonate to cause an eruption I wanted to explore with other combinations to see what might react with Kool Aid.  We love to paint, so the first thing I tried was tempura paint.

How to Make Erupting Kool Aid Paint

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Supplies:

• white tempura paint
• Kool Aid
• paint brushes
• platic container
• butcher paper

JZ (5) covered the bottom of the container with white paint.  We opened three flavors of Kool Aid and dumped the powder directly onto the paint.

Then we waited and observed.

Tank and Peanut (21 months) thought waiting was overrated, so I squirted some white paint onto the butcher paper and let them paint.

J-Bug (4) ran off to play, occasionally checking on the paint.  JZ was enthralled.  He closely observed as the powder was absorbed into the paint.  It took awhile for the first bubbles to start, but after five or so minutes the eruptions made the wait worth it.

The eruptions started as small bubbles.

The bubbles got bigger and bigger as the Kool Aid powder continued to mix with the paint.

Please note:  The eruptions are not as big or immediate as baking soda eruptions, but the bubbles are bigger.  JZ pointed to each bubble, and his excitement grew with each one.

Peanut climbed down from the table to see what all the fuss was about.

After watching the eruptions the boys painted with the Kool Aid and paint mixture.  The grape flavor changed to black after mixing with the white paint.  The red and orange produced pretty results.

For more eruptions and experiments follow me on Pinterest.

More erupting paint recipes for kids:

Erupting Flour Paint ~ Erupting Sidewalk Chalk Paint ~ Erupting Watercolor Paint