Is there anything more fun than an explosive science experiment? This collection of explosive, fizzy and sometimes messy science activities is sure to appeal to even the most reluctant little scientists, and the kids who love science already will REALLY enjoy erupting volcanoes, launching rockets and generally just doing awesome science at home.
Exploding science experiments
Erupting soda geyser
The most well known explosive experiment is probably the infamous coke and mentos eruption! This science experiment is a must-try for everyone and always leads to shrieks of joy as the geyser of coke shoots into the air.
My top tip is to add the mentos as quickly as possible. If you’re struggling to get it to work well, try the extreme geyser tube from Steve Spangler.
Exploding watermelon
123 Homeschool 4 Me has a fantastic exploding watermelon which looks impressive, but do take care, as it will explode with a bang!
Film canister rocket
Film canister rockets are always fun, but they also fly up very quickly, so stand back straight away. It’s a good idea to use chalk to mark out a safe observation area on the ground before starting and ask an adult to add the ingredients to the canister and place it on the ground.
Experiment with different combinations of vinegar and baking soda to make this an investigation.
Elephant Toothpaste
Another fun, explosive science experiment to try with kids is making elephant toothpaste. It’s a big reaction that looks amazing! We wouldn’t recommend going for the elephant toothpaste world record, though.
To kick up the fun a notch, instead of a single colour elephant toothpaste, try a rainbow toothpaste explosion! Talk about an amazing visual effect!
Water bottle popper
If you are short on materials, you can set up an explosive science experiment with a single water bottle to make the bottle cap pop out from the bottle.
Exploding lolly sticks
A popsicle stick chain reaction is one of the best exploding science experiments. All you need are craft sticks or popsicle sticks, and the explosion is incredible, although setting it up does take a bit of patience.
Baking soda potions
Erupting potions in a test tube or beaker made with baking soda and vinegar is always fun! We like to make witchy potions for Halloween, love potions for Valentine’s Day and fairy potions for any time of year.
Splatter patterns
Experiment with water balloons or balloons filled with paint and create different patterns. Watching the splatter patterns change depending on where you drop them from is great fun and a fab science investigation for kids.
Erupting soap
Erupting soap is yet another classic and well known explosive science experiment to add to the list! This is also one of those rare experiments with a single ingredient – ivory soap!
Similar to erupting soap, exploding peep geysers also need a microwave. We love a little twist with ghost peeps, and it would make this experiment perfect for trying around Halloween. If you don’t have peeps where you are, an ordinary marshmallow will work just as well.
Erupting baking soda volcano
A simple tweak can turn an ordinary erupting volcano experiment into a fun multicoloured volcano! Let kids make their own volcano from scratch to extend the activity further.
Another spin on a classic volcano science experiment is an ice volcano. These are perfect for bringing outside on a hot summer day!
Let us know if you have any ideas for more explosive experiments, we can try!
Don’t forget I have 100s more fun, exciting and FREE science experiments for kids to try too, so if you don’t fancy any of these, do take a look around, and hopefully, one of my other experiments will be what you’re looking for.
Last Updated on March 20, 2023 by Emma Vanstone
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