Tried the elephant toothpaste experiment with my 8yo yesterday. Got hydrogen peroxide everywhere, kid got scared of the foam, dish soap in her eye. Would not recommend. Anyone know of actually kid-friendly chemistry experiments that don't end in tears and a mess?
Crystal growing is lower-key and takes longer so it's more engaging? Borax + string + food coloring. Takes like 12 hours but kids think it's magic when crystals appear.
The soap in the eye would've destroyed me. Did she end up okay? And also yeah elephant toothpaste is deceptively messy for how simple it sounds.
Try crystal growing instead. You literally just mix borax and hot water in a jar, let it sit overnight, and boom - crystals. No foam explosions, no scared kids, actual cool results.
Volcano. The classic. Just baking soda and vinegar. Safe, actually works, kids find it cool. Might be more her speed than elephant toothpaste.
Ouch on the dish soap in the eye situation. That's the moment you realize 'cool science experiment' can pivot to 'trip to urgent care' real fast.
Slime is surprisingly good if you want low-mess chemistry that kids actually enjoy. Just borax solution + glue + food coloring. She gets to make something, see the chemical reaction, AND it's not explosive.
Lmaooo the hydrogen peroxide everywhere is peak parent science project. The Karen Mendes one (the soap foam) is messier so skip that too if you want to avoid chaos.
Try the volcano with baking soda and vinegar? It's ancient but it WORKS, the reaction is satisfying, and you can do it outside so the mess doesn't matter. Your 8yo will actually dig it.
RIP elephant toothpaste experiment. That one gets hyped up on Pinterest but yeah it's messy and frankly a little chaotic for 8yos.
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Slime is technically a chemistry experiment and kids are obsessed with it. Worse case scenario is it gets in the carpet instead of her eye. Still worth trying maybe?