Can I use vinegar in elephant toothpaste?

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Tired of the same old baking soda and vinegar science experiment?  Here is a cute experiment for making elephant toothpaste that makes lots of colored foam and is fun for kids. It uses stuff you probably have sitting around the house anyway, and while it is not as explosively fast as baking soda and vinegar it produces quite a bit of colored foam.

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The experiment is a decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, which is a chemical reaction that normally occurs very slowly.  To make it more exciting yeast is used as a catalyst which speeds up the reaction.  I used standard drug store hydrogen peroxide, which is a 3% solution.  You can also buy a 6% solution of hydrogen peroxide at some beauty supply stores, and get an even faster reaction.  But if you are going to do that you need to use gloves and safety goggles, so I decided to keep my experiment more low key.

Here is short version showing the results, and you can see a longer video of the full experiment at the end of the post.

Here is how to make the Elephant Toothpaste:

Supplies:

• Empty soda bottle
• measuring cup
• packet of yeast
• warm water
• 1/2 c. hydrogen peroxide (3%)
• 1/4 c. dish soap
• food coloring

Directions:

1. Mix the yeast in a small amount of warm water and set it aside to start dissolving.
2. Add the hydrogen peroxide, dish soap and food coloring to the soda bottle and swirl to mix.
3. Add the dissolved yeast and sit back to watch the foam.
4. Clean up the mess.

This is a fun science experiment for the end of the school year!

By on June 9th, 2017

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Scroll all the way down to watch the video below for the step-by-step video in how to create this cool Elephant Toothpaste Science Experiment and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more fun videos!

Have you ever heard of the classic science experiment called Elephant Toothpaste? It looks just as it sounds – foaming toothpaste so big an elephant could brush its teeth with it! And we can assure you that kids get as much of a kick making it as the name.

My son Kian (age 7) is a huge fan of science and in fact, it’s his favorite subject. Because he’s naturally curious and also loves sharing his knowledge and being in front of the camera (you may remember him from his train video channel), he’s staring a new video series all about how kids can re-create classic science experiments at home! Kian’s World of Science is what we’re calling it for now (let us know if you have any fun suggestions for names!).

We’re kicking off this channel on the newly released IGTV which is the YouTube equivalent of Instagram (no, this isn’t sponsored, we’re just loving the new video format on IG), so make sure to follow us on Instagram @hellowonderful_co and check out our IGTV channel there.

Back to Elephant Toothpaste. Before STEM was the latest craze, there were classic science experiments parents remembered making as kids. Experiments like elephant toothpaste, baking soda volcanos and magic milk experiments to name a few.

That’s why we’re excited for our new video series making classic science cool again! Let’s get to the science of what you need to make elephant toothpaste.

ELEPHANT TOOTHPASTE – MATERIALS:

• 1/2 a cup of Hydrogen peroxide*
•  A packet of dry yeast (one packet is approximately 1/4 oz)
• 3 Tablespoons warm water
• Food coloring
• A cylinder (at least 500 ml) or you can use a flask
• A tablespoon of dish soap (any will do)
• A tray
• A funnel
• Safety goggles

*We used 40 volume hydrogen peroxide with is 12% available in beauty supply stores as “hair developers.” Most recipes call for at least 6% (20 volume) for a good foam reaction. The ones you get at the drug stores, won’t be as foamy as they are 3% but you can still try it!

**Hydrogen peroxide can burn and irritate skin so please only have adults pour and handle this step. 

There are tons of recipes for elephant toothpaste online but we adjusted and followed this one.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Step 1. Gather your materials. Wear safety goggles. Place your cylinder in your tray. Have an adult pour the hydrogen peroxide into the cylinder. 

Step 2. Have your child add two pumps or about a tablespoon of dish soap into the cylinder.

Step 3. Add several drops of ONE color of food coloring (we tried more than one color and it just turns gray!). One color we found was best and if you want to create those classic toothpaste looking stripes, add the color to various sides of the cylinder.

Step 4. Mix your yeast with the warm water for at least 30 seconds.

Step 5. Pour the yeast into the cylinder, step back and watch the foamy magic happen! DON’T TOUCH THE FOAM AS IT’S AN EXOTHERMIC REACTION AND IS HOT! After several minutes, it does cool down. 

The foam does dissipate from its lofty volume rather quickly in minutes and after several minutes, is not hot to the touch. However, to be extra cautious, please don’t have children touch and play with the foam in case all the hydrogen peroxide has not broken down from the catalyst (yeast).

This is super cool to watch the foam slowly come out and erupt. The food coloring adds cool stripes to the foam making it look just like elephant toothpaste!

When you are done, you can simply rinse out all ingredients in the sink as they are safe to drain.

So what’s the science behind elephant toothpaste?

Hydrogen peroxide is composed of water and oxygen. The yeast is a catalyst that takes the oxygen away from the hydrogen peroxide which then gets trapped by dish soap from lots of bubbles!

Have you tried making elephant toothpaste with kids?

Watch the process video below of how to make elephant toothpaste with kids below! Watch it on IGTV (Instagram TV) as well.

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