Make your own lava lamp
A lava lamp (or astro lamp) is a decorative and unique item which was invented in 1963 by a British accountant named Edward Craven Walker. This lamp is designed in a variety of colours and shapes, and now you get to make your own.
Materials:
- Cooking oil
- Water
- Food colouring
- An empty water bottle
- Alka-Seltzer antacid tablets
The first thing you need to do is to fill your bottle two-thirds with oil, fill in the other third with water, leaving about an inch free at the top. Looking at the water layer sink to the bottom can be fun, but you have to wait awhile for the bubbles to disappear before you continue with the following step.
The next step is for you to add several drops of food colouring. Since you put the oil in before the water, it will take some time for the drops of food colouring to “go through the process” and tint the water.
Now it’s time for you to break an Alka-Seltzer tablet into three or four pieces, drop one of the pieces in and watch what happens! When the tablet touches the layer of water, it will start to fizz and you’ll see the coloured water will erupt!
Once the tablet dissolves, you won’t see any more bubbles, but they will start up again as soon as you add another piece of tablet. In case the oil layer starts to look cloudy with tiny bubbles, you can just let it settle for a while, add some more if needed.
Final step: Enjoy your cool, creative lamp!
