Potion fun!

For Halloween, I wanted to whip up some extra-special fun for my events. So I put together two simple "potion" activities.

Of course, I pulled out my favorite color changing experiment. I filled one fancy bottle with vinegar. To another I added a solution made by dissolving baking soda in warm water. This way you have two clear liquids that look very similar. Then I made a purple potion by boiling a head of red cabbage in water and cooling the liquid.

To do the magic trick, just pour a bit of each clear potion into a cup. Add a few drops of purple potion. The vinegar will turn pink, while the baking soda will turn blue. Then mix them together. The solution will fizz and turn purple!

For the second potion experiment, I decided to make slime. Again you need to make two matching solutions. For the first, add 1 teaspoon of Borax to 1 cup of water and stir well to dissolve. For the second, add 1/2 cup of clear glue to 1/2 cup of water and mix well. When I'm working with a group, I usually make a gallon of each solution, so I have plenty to work with.

When you add equal amounts of the Borax solution and the glue mixture together, it will gel quickly into a gloppy slime. You can add food coloring to the glue mixture before adding Borax, if you like, to make colored slime.

Any time you need a bit of magic, I hope you'll play with potions like these. Happy Halloween!