Chemistry Experiments You Can Do at Home

Don't worry if you don't have a chemistry lab. These projects use materials you can find around the house.

This is a list of common chemicals and where you can find them.

Do you want to explore science, but can't find or can't afford chemicals? Here are science experiments and projects you can do that use common kitchen chemicals.

Are you interested in growing crystals, but unsure where to start? This is a list of the best crystal growing projects for beginners or anyone seeking top crystals projects based on simplicity, safety, and great results.

Many fun and interesting science experiments are also safe for kids. This is a collection of science experiments and projects that are safe enough for kids to try, even without adult supervision.

Smoke bombs are easy and fun to make and light. There are several types of smoke bombs you can make, plus you can use the smoke bomb recipe as a starting point for other types of pyrotechnic devices. Try these recipes for making your own smoke bombs.

There are a lot of interesting and educational science projects that you can do at home. Typically these projects and experiments use common household chemicals and other materials found around the house. Examples of fun home science projects include making slime polymer, reacting baking soda and vinegar to erupt volcanoes, and growing sugar crystals. What is your favorite home science project?

You can use home chemistry to make many of the everyday household products that you use. Making these products yourself can save you money and allow you to customize formulations to avoid toxic or irritating chemicals.

Are you searching for something fun and educational to do that suitable for kids? Here are some great chemistry activities and projects to get you started. They are safe and use easy-to-find materials.

Is it safe to use your kitchen glassware and utensils for chemistry experiments? Here's a look at some of the risks involved in using your dishes for chemistry.

Making a baking soda and vinegar volcano is safe and easy, plus it only requires a few inexpensive kitchen ingredients. Here are detailed instructions for making a volcano, plus a look at the chemical reactions involved.

Make your own stalagmites and stalactites using baking soda or sodium bicarbonate. It's an easy, non-toxic crystal project.

Rock candy is candy made by crystallizing sugar. You can grow sugar crystals yourself, plus add color and flavor to make rock candy that you can eat.

From your About Chemistry Guide, these are recipes for education and family fun, as well as interesting experiments and demonstrations.

Getting a child a chemistry set is an excellent way to introduce principles of chemistry. However, not all chemistry sets are created equal. Check out these tips about age recommendations, supervision and safety, replacement chemicals, and prices.

Introduce students to chemical reactions and experimentation using common materials and baggies.

This is a twist on the classic baking soda volcano, where you use the ingredients to make squirt-able fountains of foam.

Use static electricity to bend a stream of flowing water. This is an easy science activity that illustrates how opposite electrical charges attract each other.

As the price of diesel continues to climb, you may wish to consider making your own diesel from cooking oil, called biodiesel. It's easy and could save you money.

Bismuth is one of the easiest and prettiest metal crystals that you can grow yourself. The crystals have an interesting geometric hopper shape and are rainbow-colored from the oxide layer that quickly forms on them. Try these step-by-step instructions for growing bismuth crystals.

Easy to find chemicals are used to make a pale blue solution, which becomes sky blue and finally deep royal blue. Try this color change chemistry demonstration at home or in the lab.

Pull a wire through an ice cube without cutting the cube! This trick works thanks to a phenomenon called regelation, in which the ice melts from the pressure of the wire and freezes up after the wire passes. Here's how to put a wire through an ice cube or hang the ice on wire.

You can make black snake or glow worm fireworks yourself, safely and easily.

It's very easy to make blue fire. Here are a few of the ways you can make blue fire yourself.

Use chemistry to make a bouncing polymer ball, then alter the procedure to see the effect the changes have on the charactertistics of the bouncing ball.

This science fair project examines whether bubbles last the same length of time in hot temperatures as they do in cool temperatures.

Bubble prints are like fingerprints, except made with bubbles. You can make bubble prints and learn about how bubbles are shaped and how pigments combine to make different colors.

Bubbles are fun no matter what, but bubbles you can burn just has that added extra appeal. Here's an easy science project you can do that proves propellants in common products are flammable and allows you to burn some bubbles.

Make your own pH indicator solution! Red cabbage juice indicator is easy to make, exhibits a wide range of colors, and can be used to make your own pH paper strips.

You know you can put out a candle flame by pouring water on it. In this science magic trick, the candle will go out when you pour 'air' onto it.

Use dry ice to carbonate fruit. The fruit will be filled with tingly carbon dioxide bubbles, like a soda. The fizzy fruit is great to eat on its own or it can be used in recipes.

You can use chalk and alcohol to perfom chromatography to separate the pigments in food colorings or inks. After you've finished making your chromatogram, you'll have colored chalk.

Use pennies, nails, and a few simple household ingredients to explore some of the interesting properties of metals. Clean the pennies chemically, make verdigris, and plate the nails with copper.

Have you ever wondered how smoke machines work or wanted to make your own smoke or fog? Here's your chance to find out how it works. There are separate sections for each type of non-toxic smoke generator, together with important safety tips.

Chemistry and cooking share a lot in common! You can have some Christmas chemistry fun in the lab making these peppermint cream wafer candies.

Analyze the dyes used in your favorite candies with paper chromatography using a coffee filter, colored candies, and a salt solution.

Here's a quick and easy science project you can do: make a cloud inside a bottle. This simple project uses water vapor and smoke from a match to help form a cloud.

Have you ever wanted to color fire? Here are simple, nontechnical instructions for making your own colored flames. Add extra interest to your fireplace or campfire!

Have you ever wanted to color your urine or wondered what causes urine to become colored? If so, you're in luck, because I have the answer! Here's a little applied color chemistry for your entertainment and experimentation pleasure.

How can you make your fire more festive? Toss on a few colored fire pinecones! Colored fire pinecones are extremely easy to make. All you need is one common household chemical.

These are instructions for making colored fire in all the colors of the rainbow.

You can spritz a flame with chemicals to change the color of the fire. Colored fire spray bottles are easy to prepare and use common chemicals.

It's easy to make your own colored flowers, especially carnations and daisies, but there are a couple of tricks that help ensure great results. Here's how you do it.

Copper plate a holiday decoration as a Christmas ornament or for other decorative uses.

Copper sulfate crystals are among the easiest and most beautiful crystals that you can grow. The brilliant blue crystals can be grown relatively quickly and can become quite large. Here's how you can grow copper sulfate crystals yourself.

Mske copper sulfate or copper sulphate yourself from copper and sulfuric acid.

Natural geodes are hollow rock formations that contain deposits of crystals. Assuming you don't have a geological timeframe to obtain a geode, it's easy to make your own crystal geode using plaster of paris, alum, and food coloring.

Grow a cupful of epsom salt crystal needles in your refrigerator. It's quick, easy, and safe.

Make a liquid layers density column with as many as seven layers using common household liquids. This is an easy, fun and colorful science project that illustrates the concepts of density and miscibility.

A dessicator or dessicant container is a chamber that removes water from chemicals or items. It is extremely easy to make a dessicator yourself using materials you probably have on hand.

Learn how to make blue or red ink that will disappear after exposure to air. Tips for restoring the color and an explanation of the acid-base chemistry of the reaction are also included.

Dissolving Styrofoam or another polystyrene product in acetone is a spectacular demonstration of the solubility of this plastic in an organic solvent, plus it illustrates just how much air is in the Styrofoam.

Place a ketchup packet in a bottle of water and make it rise and fall at your command, as if by magic. Of course, the magic involves some basic science. Here's how to do the diving ketchup trick and how it works.

You can use sublimating dry ice to produce carbon dioxide gas to fill bubbles. A small piece of dry ice will produce cloudy bubbles for a long time. Here's what you do.

You can use duck tape to see an example of triboluminescence, the glow given off when some materials are subjected to mechanical stress or friction. The duck tape triboluminescence project is extremely easy and only take a few seconds to try.

Most slime recipes are non-toxic, but there are only a few you can actually eat and none that taste as good as this one! Here's how to make edible slime.

Perform an experiment to observe the effects of acids, bases, and water on the rate of browning of cut apples or other produce.

You don't see air and might not think much of it is contained in a bottle, but air and the pressure it exerts can be very powerful. The egg in a bottle demonstration illustrates the concept of air pressure.

Epsom salt crystals are easy to grow and form quickly. Here's what you need to know to make your own magnesium sulfate crystals.

You can make fake snow using a common polymer. The fake snow is non-toxic, feels cool to the touch, and looks similar to the real thing.

Write a message using a special invisible ink. Reveal the message in fire with this fire writing chemistry project.

If you can find a tee shirt and some lighter fluid, you can make small fireballs. These fireballs are re-useable. Theoretically, you can hold them in your hand.

Firebreathing involves breathing a fine mist of fuel over an open flame to form a fireball. It's the most stunning fire trick and potentially the most risky since most firebreathing involves using a flammable, toxic fuel. Here are instructions for a safer form of firebreathing, using a non-flammable, non-toxic fuel that you have in your kitchen.

Firecrackers are extremely easy and inexpensive to make yourself. Learn how to make homemade firecrackers and how to light them safely.

Fireworks are a beautiful and fun part of many celebrations, but not something you want kids to make themselves. However, even very young explorers can experiment with these safe underwater fireworks.

This article introduces a type of weather glass that uses characteristics of precipitants and barometric pressure changes to forecast weather. There are instructions for making a storm glass and links for further meteorology, HMS Beagle, Darwin, and Fitzroy information. Be aware that construction of this storm glass may be dangerous!

Make a non-toxic fizzy Mad Scientist potion using ingredients from your kitchen. The potion looks evil, but it is safe enough to drink.

These are ideas for science fair projects that involve food or cooking chemistry. Links are provided for additional science fair project help and food chemistry information.

Kick the traditional smoke bomb recipe up a notch to make a firework fountain that shoots purple flames with lots of smoke. This is a fun and easy homemade firework project.

Red cabbage juice contains a natural pH indicator that changes color from purple to green under basic (alkaline) conditions. You can use this reaction to make a fried green egg.

If you have fruit, a couple of nails, and wire then you can generate electricity to turn on a light bulb. Learn how to make a fruit battery. It's fun, safe, and easy.

Measure the ripening of fruit from exposure to the plant hormone ethylene by testing starch levels with an iodine solution. This easy experiment can be performed on several types of fruit, such as apples, pears, and bananas.

Geodes are rocks that contain crystals. Normally, millions of years are required for flowing water and minerals to deposit crystals, but you can make your own 'geode' in only a few days. Grow blue copper sulfate crystals inside an egg shell to make your own geode.

Alum crystals are among the quickest, easiest, and most reliable crystals you can grow. Did you know you can make them glow in the dark by adding a common household ingredient to the crystal growing solution?

It's very easy to make a glow in the dark crystal geode. The rock is a natural mineral (eggshell). You can use one of several common household chemicals to grow the crystals. The glow comes from phosphorescent paint, which you can get from a craft store.

Learn how to make a glow-in-the-dark crystal snowflake or other glowing holiday ornament. This is a safe and easy project that's great for kids and kids-at-heart. The crystal decorations are light-weight and inexpensive to make.

It's easy to make a mentos and soda eruption glow. All you need to do is use tonic water or diet tonic water instead of the usual diet soda and shine a black light on the fountain.

All it takes is a few easily-obtained materials to turn a bottle of Mountain Dew into a glow in the dark bottle of Mountain Dew.

What is better than regular slime? Slime that glows in the dark, of course! This is an easy and fun project that is suitable for kids.

Bubbles are already awesome, but glowing bubbles are even better. It is easy and safe to make bubbles glow, plus it doesn't require any hard-to-find materials. Here is what you do.

There are a few different ways you can make a non-toxic glowing ice sphere. You can even make a glowing crystal ball that you can float in a bowl of punch to drink.

It's incredibly easy to make Jell-O or other gelatin glow under a black light. Here's what you do.

Learn how to make homemade glowing printer ink that you can use to print glowing pictures, iron-on transfers, posters, and more.

It's really easy to make glowing water that you can use as glowing water or as a glowing ingredient in other water-based projects.

This glowing water video shows you two ways to make water glow. One is suitable for making glowing fountains or other decorations while the other can be used to make glow-in-the-dark drinks.

Goo slime is a type of slime that flows when you pour it, but hardens when you squeeze it. Goo is non-toxic and easy to make using two common household ingredients.

A Halloween jack-o-lantern filled with green fire is much more impressive than one lit with the usual candle. Here's how to produce this easy effect yourself.

It's easy to make brilliant green fire. This cool chemistry project only takes two household chemicals.

See how to make green fire using common chemicals. You can apply the same method to produce fire in other colors using different metal salts.

Sugar crystals are also known as rock candy since the crystallized sucrose resembles rock crystals and because you can eat your finished product. You can grow clear sugar crystals with sugar and water or you can add food coloring to get colored crystals. It's simple, safe, and fun.

Are you looking for a fun science fair project idea? Here are some ways you can turn crystal growing into a research project. There are links to instructions for growing different types of crystals and for designing a great science fair project, too.

Your carved pumpkin or Halloween jack o lantern doesn't have to rot or mold before Halloween! Here is how to preserve a jack o lantern so that it will last for weeks instead of days.

All fire is not created equal! If you apply a little chemistry know-how, you can make a fireball cool enough to hold in your hand. See how it's done, then try this simple fire project yourself.

This is an easy chemistry project that uses common materials. You take a post-1982 penny, score the copper surface to expose the zinc interior, react the zinc with acid, and are left with a hollow copper penny.

Here's a list of common household substances and garden plants that can be used as pH indicators. Many of the active molecules, expected color changes, and pH ranges are listed.

Some commercial hand sanitizers contain ingredients as scary as the germs they protect you from, so why not make your own hand sanitizer from ingredients you select? This is an excellent project for kids as well as adults, since the project can be expanded to include a discussion about hygiene and disinfection.

Honeycomb candy is an easy-to-make candy that has an interesting texture caused by carbon dioxide bubbles getting trapped within the candy.

Sodium acetate or hot ice is an amazing chemical you can prepare yourself from baking soda and vinegar. You can cool a solution of sodium acetate below its melting point and then cause the liquid to crystallize. The crystallization is an exothermic process, so the resulting ice is hot. Solidification occurs so quickly you can form sculptures as you pour the hot ice.

Hot ice is a non-toxic chemical you can make in the kitchen from baking soda and vinegar. You can cause the saturated solution of hot ice to crystallize in 'ice' that gives of heat or you can build crystalline towers as you pour the hot ice onto a container. Here a step-by-step video that shows you what to do.

Science doesn't have to be expensive and it doesn't require specialized lab equipment! These are ideas for science fair projects that involve testing or comparing common household products.

Find out how lightsticks or glowsticks work. Learn about the chemistry behind the process and get on-line purchase information. This article also explains how to make glow sticks last longer or become brighter!

Do you want to grow crystals, but you aren't sure where to start or what to do to make sure your crystals turn out well? Here's some basic information on crystal growing. I've provided links to recipes so you can start growing crystals. These instructions are general, so if your recipe calls for something special (like no vibrations or dark), be...

If you want snow, but Mother Nature won't cooperate, you can take matters into your own hands and make snow yourself! This is the homemade version of real water ice snow, just like the snow that falls from the sky except without the need for clouds.

Here are simple instructions for preparing common gases from ordinary chemicals. The gases include carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen, methane, nitrous oxide, chlorine, and several others.

Make a tasty treat and learn about freezing point depression, too! All you need are some basic ingredients and two ziploc baggies. It's easy, fun, and educational.

Use this chemistry lesson plan to help students use the scientific method to design experiments to identify the components of an unknown mixture.

Make your own invisible ink so you can write and reveal secret messages. Get information about inks that are activated by heat, chemical reactions, and ultraviolet light.

The acetic acid in ketchup reacts with baking soda to produce an extra-special type of lava for a chemical volcano. This is a non-toxic volcano recipe that is sure to please!

The elephant toothpaste demo produces a growing column of foam that looks like what you would get if an elephant squashed a giant tube of toothpaste. Here's a kid-friendly version of this classic chemistry demonstration.

Lava lamps are interesting and cool. Have you ever wanted to make your own lava lamp? Lava lamps that you buy use high heat and toxic chemicals, but you can make a lava lamp at home using safe kitchen ingredients. Here's how.

It's easy to make your own laundry detergent, plus the cost of using it is about a tenth the price of using store-bought laundry detergent. Here's how you make this cleaner yourself.

The lemon fizz project is a fun bubbly science project using kitchen ingredients that’s ideal for kids to try.

Lichtenberg figures essentially capture the image of lightning. Here's how you can make your own Lichtenberg figure from common materials.

Make your own ferrofluid, or liquid magnet, which can be used with a magnet to change the liquid's density and to form spikes and other amazing shapes.

Make liquid nitrogen ice cream as a cool cryogenics or phase change demonstration or for a quick and tasty treat.

If you add food coloring to milk, not a whole lot happens, but it only takes one simple ingredient to turn the milk into a spinning color wheel. Here is what you do.

A magic crystal Christmas tree is an easy crystal project you can do for the holidays.

Magic Powerballs are polymer bouncy balls that anyone ages 6 and up can make. My kids and I gave this project a try. Here is what we thought of the Magic Powerballs kit.

Magic Rocks are a classic instant crystal growing kit. You pour a magic solution over magic rocks and a fanciful crystal garden starts growing as you watch. Here's my review of the Magic Rocks kit.

Use dry ice to freeze bubbles solid so that you can pick them up and examine them closely. You can use this project to demonstrate several scientific principles, such as density, interference, semipermeability, and diffusion.

A match rocket is an extremely simple rocket to construct and launch. The match rocket illustrates many rocketry principles, including basic jet propulsion and Newton's laws of motion. Match rockets fly several meters, in a burst of heat and flame.

Candies and diet soda together can make a chemical 'volcano' with an eruption several feet high. If the normal baking soda volcano is too tame for you, give this project a try.

Microwaving a CD or compact disc produces lots of sparks. Here's how to microwave a CD safely.

Do you know the difference between a mixture and a compound? Combine iron and sulfur to make a mixture and then react them to form a chemical compound.

There are several ways you can make homemade clay for modeling, making ornaments, and for other projects and crafts. Here are several clay recipes, including a refrigerator clay, a clay you bake to harden, one you coat for a glossy finish, and one that works up and stays pliable much like store-bought modeling clay.

These are easy instructions for making your own natural Easter egg dyes, using fruits, vegetables, and spices.

Turn the surface of your glass patio table into a safe place for kids to explore crystals. Here's an easy crystal project you can do on any warm, sunny day using ingredients from your kitchen.

The pepper and water science trick is one of the easiest magic tricks you can perform. Here's how to do the trick and an explanation of how it works.

Perfume is a classic gift, but it's even better if it is a scent that you made yourself, especially if you package it in a beautiful bottle. Perfume you make yourself is free from synthetic chemicals and is fully customized to your personal taste. Here's how to make your own perfume.

Here are some science fair project ideas that involve plants and soil chemistry. Are you looking for an environmental science project? Check here!

You can make pH indicator from poinsettia flowers, then use the indicator to make your own pH paper test strips.

Make potassium nitrate (saltpeter) from common household ingredients. Potassium chloride from lite salt and ammonium nitrate from a cold pack are reacted to yield potassium nitrate and ammonium chloride. This is an easy way to make your own potassium chloride if you can't find it in a store or just want to try a fun chemistry experiment.

A potato can function as an electrochemical cell or battery. It's fun to use a potato to power an LED clock.

Grow crystals quickly and easily with these top crystal growing projects.

If you don't have the time or patience to grow crystals over hours, days, or longer, try growing these sheet crystals. You'll get results in seconds!

It's easy to turn an ordinary flame into a rainbow-colored flame.

Make a rainbow in a glass using colored sugar solutions with different densities. This project is very easy and safe enough to drink.

Make beautiful paper from recycled scraps of just about any paper project you can find. Learn how to add decorative items to your paper and prepare it for writing or stamping. This is a fun craft that teaches about recycling while making a useful handmade product.

Learn how to make your own pH indicator test strips using red cabbage. This is a fun, safe, and easy chemistry project that you can do at home.

Red fire is easy to produce. This is a classic color for sparklers and fireworks as well as holiday parties. It would also be a cheery coloration for a campfire or fireplace.

You don't have to visit a candy store to get colorful rock candy. See how easy it is to grow your own sparkling (and tasty) rock candy crystals at home.

Here are instructions for tumbling rocks using a rotary drum tumbler and a vibratory tumbler, as well as instructions for polishing jewelry in a rock tumbler. Helpful tips are included for improving the polish and troubleshooting problems.

You can make a hard boiled egg bounce like a rubber ball and cause chicken bones to become soft and rubbery. All you need is a common kitchen ingredient.

You can use vinegar to remove the calcium in chicken bones to make them rubbery. This is a simple project that illustrates what would happen to your own bones if the calcium in them is used more quickly than it is replaced.

Salt and vinegar crystals are easy-to-grow non-toxic crystals that you can grow in a rainbow of colors. This crystal growing project is especially good for kids or beginners looking for quick and easy crystals.

You can make a salt crystal geode in any color of the rainbow. The geode showcases the beautiful cubic structure of sodium chloride or table salt.

You can make your own shampoo from scratch using simple ingredients and a little chemistry know-how. Here's a shampoo recipe to get you started.

You can create a pattern resembling tie-dye using colored Sharpie pens and rubbing alcohol. It's a fun and educational project that is great for kids.

In this simple chemistry demonstration or crystal growing project you'll grow a silver crystal tree.

There are lots of recipes for slime. Since most recipes are easy, look for one using ingredients you have on hand.

Slime is fun material that you can make yourself using common household ingredients. See how to make slime at home, and learn about the chemical process that occurs to form it.

You can easily make a smoke bomb using inexpensive materials to produce safe smoke.

You can make a smoke ring cannon that shoots smoke rings in the air or even in water. A smoke ring cannon is a simple science project that uses easy-to-find household materials to illustrate fluid vortex formation in a fun way.

Here is a collection of several quick and easy recipes for ice cream you can make using snow.

Soap slime is an easy-to-make type of slime that is fun to play with and makes clean-up fun. Here's how you make it.

You can make spooky fog come out of your Halloween jack-o-lantern using a little dry ice. Here's how you do it plus a trick for getting the best effect.

Stink bombs smell terrible, but they are also fun. Here are instructions for how to use everyday materials to make your own stink bombs.

You can cool water below its stated freezing point and then crystallize it into ice on command. This is known as supercooling. These are step-by-step instructions for supercooling water at home.

It's easy to grow your own table salt or sodium chloride crystals. All it takes is salt and boiling water. One method even yields crystals within a few hours. Here's what you need to know.

There are some truly exceptional chemistry sets out right now! Many of these chemistry kits introduce fundamental concepts through fun themes, such as 'slime' or 'glowing chemistry' or 'edible chemistry', while other sets are safer versions of the standard chemistry sets.

Here are some kits for growing your own crystals. There are big kits with multiple crystal types, non-toxic kits for younger explorers, pre-sealed crystal globes, and unopened geodes!

This is a collection of top-rated science fair project resources for students, parents, and educators. There are books that describe experiments, a CD-ROM packed with thousands of pages of ideas, and reference materials for making posters, giving presentations, and understanding the judging process.

Harry Potter toys, chemistry sets, metal detectors, rock tumblers, telescopes, microscopes, rockets, creatures, and more! These are some great educational toys, along with helpful selection tips and price comparisons.

Make a smoke bomb that billows clouds of brightly colored smoke. This project is easy and safe enough to at home. Adult supervision is required.

It's very simple to make violet or purple fire. All you need are two easy-to-find ingredients.

Turn a clear liquid into a red liquid, then back to clear again. This demonstration is commonly called turning water into wine or blood, and can be used to demonstrate acid-base indicators.

Black lights emit ultraviolet radiation, giving certain materials an eerie glow. Which materials? You can do a little experimental research or you can check out this list!

Here's how to make a safe and easy chemical volcano using two common inexpensive household ingredients.

Most flames from candles or wood burning fire are yellow, but you can color a blue flame so that it will become yellow. Here's what you do.