Fall is officially here and I am so excited about all the fun ahead. The air is feeling crisp, the leaves are changing, EVERYONE is serving pumpkin this and pumpkin that… and I am feeling pretty happy. I always over-plan this time of year! I even have had my daughter’s Halloween costume for a few weeks now. So it is not a huge surprise that my family is making our way to the pumpkin patch this weekend. Our outfits are planned and I even have some ideas in mind for a few of the pumpkins we will be getting.

Every time we visit a pumpkin patch my daughter always makes her way to the tiny pumpkins and chooses a few of them. Since it is so early in the season I thought it would be the perfect time to use at least one for a fun STEM project. Tiny bubbling pumpkins! They resemble mini volcanoes and kids love them. I love them too! It involves a little bit of mess and a whole lot of fun.

For this project you will need:

• Mini pumpkins
• Baking Soda
• Vinegar
• Food coloring (we used a variety of colors)
• Dish soap
• Spoon
• Measuring cup
• Goggles
• Baking pan or tray

We decided to take this activity outside so we didn’t have to worry about making a mess. If you decide to stay inside I recommend placing the pumpkins on a pan or tray to help contain the mess.

• Cut the top off and clean out each of your tiny pumpkins
• Clean them out completely or leave a few seeds if you would like to
• Spoon baking soda into each tiny pumpkin
• Add a few drops of dish soap (this will give a foamy appearance) and food coloring
• Put the vinegar in the measuring cup and allow your kids to pour it in the pumpkins (My daughter wore goggles in case it splashed)
• When the vinegar which is an acid and the baking soda mix, they make carbon dioxide causing the eruption.

Such a fun hands on learning experience!

What fun fall science activities have you been doing?

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