Frankenstein’s Monster
You don’t need electricity to bring Frankenstein’s Monster to life! Instead, reanimate (part of) the monster with a chemical reaction.
Supplies:
- Baking soda
- Vinegar
- Disposable glove
- Glass (a glass with a wide mouth is recommended)
- Teaspoon
- Tablespoon
Vocab Words:
- Chemical Reaction: A change that causes a new substance to form.
Instructions:
- Before starting, stretch out the glove. This will help with the experiment later and reduce the chances of the glove popping.
- Pour three tablespoons of vinegar into the glass.
- Pour two teaspoons of baking soda into the glove. Shake it out so that the baking soda is in the fingers of the glove.
- Without letting the baking soda fall into the glass, stretch the glove over the mouth of the glass.
- For the most fun, count down from ten before lifting the glove and dumping the baking soda into the vinegar.
- What happens when the vinegar and baking soda mix?
- The “hand” should inflate and slowly lift – reanimating Frankenstein’s Monster!
How Does This Work?
You just made a chemical reaction occur! A chemical reaction is when a change occurs and creates a new substance. For this experiment, when a solid (baking soda) and a liquid (vinegar) mix they create something new: a gas! When you mix baking soda and vinegar, you create carbon dioxide. While solids keep their shape and liquids’ shapes change depending on the container they’re in, gases want to stretch and stretch until they fill up as much space as possible. When the baking soda and vinegar created carbon dioxide, it moved to fill up as much space as possible – in this case, the glove. It inflated until there was nowhere else for the gas to go. Carbon dioxide is also what makes the vinegar all fizzy.
If you’re interested in more Halloween fun, come to the Museum’s Halloween party on October 20th from 1pm-4pm!