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    Home » Early Years Science » Preschool Science » New York – Why is the Statue of Liberty Green?

    New York – Why is the Statue of Liberty Green?

    August 15, 2022 By Emma Vanstone 9 Comments

    Today’s post is part of my United States of Science series. The idea is you print of a map of America and colour each state as you learn about it with a fun science activity.

    New York

    New York City in the state of New York is the most populated city in the whole of the United States with a population of over 8.5 million people.

    The Statue of Liberty is just one of the iconic landmarks in New York City. It’s made of copper which has oxidised naturally to form a green patina coating which actually protects the copper underneath.

    It took about 20 years for the Statue of Liberty to change from copper coloured to green!

    Statue of Liberty near New York and Manhattan. USA.

    Why is the Statue of Liberty Green?

    image of the Statue of Liberty


    Some simple copper chemistry will help us to find out.

    What you need to clean coins

    Vinegar

    Salt

    Small bowl

    Copper coins

    A bowl of vinegar and copper coins ready for a science experiment

    How to clean coins

    1. Put about a teaspoon of salt into a bowl

    2. Add about 50ml of vinegar and stir to dissolve the salt.

    3. Leave the coins in the vinegar and salt solution for 5 minutes.

    a coin half cleaned with vinegar
    two copper coins soaking in a bowl of vinegar

    5. Take them out and compare to other dull copper coins!

    You now have sparkling copper treasure!

    Coins cleaned with vinegar compared with coins not cleaned with vinegar

    Why does vinegar clean coins?

    The reason copper coins don’t stay shiny is because the copper reacts with oxygen in the air to form copper oxide which is a dull greenish-grey colour.

    When you mix salt (sodium chloride) with vinegar (acetic acid), sodium acetate and hydrogen chloride form. Hydrogen chloride is an acid which works well at rapidly cleaning the surface of the copper coin leaving it beautifully shiny and removing the oxide.

    If the coin is exposed to the air again, it will quickly react with oxygen to form the dull greenish copper oxide layer again.

    The Statue of Liberty is coated in a thin layer of copper which has turned green due to reactions with air and water.

    This explains why the Statue of Liberty is green!

    This activity would be great for a school science fair project.

    If you enjoyed this activity, don’t forget I have lots more fun Chemistry science experiments for kids of all ages!

    How else can you clean coins?

    Anything acidic will clean coins and if it’s acidic and salty even better!

    • Ketchup
    • Coke
    • Lemon juice

    Do not eat or drink anything you’ve used to clean coins.

    New York Facts

    The Statue of Liberty gets struck by lightning multiple times a year.

    New York is nicknamed The Empire State.

    The capital city of New York is Albany, not New York City!

    New York is bordered by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and Canada!

    Niagara Falls borders New York and Canada.

    Map showing New York state and the states bordering it.
    New York – state of USA
    Image of the Statue of Liberty for party o a chemistry project about cleaning coins and build up of copper oxide.

    Last Updated on August 15, 2022 by Emma Vanstone

    « Shadow Experiments and Activities for Kids
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    Safety Notice

    Science Sparks ( Wild Sparks Enterprises Ltd ) are not liable for the actions of activity of any person who uses the information in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources. Science Sparks assume no liability with regard to injuries or damage to property that may occur as a result of using the information and carrying out the practical activities contained in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources.

    These activities are designed to be carried out by children working with a parent, guardian or other appropriate adult. The adult involved is fully responsible for ensuring that the activities are carried out safely.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. MsXpat

      May 25, 2012 at 5:22 pm

      Ah, nice good test.

      Reply
    2. catherine @mummylion

      May 25, 2012 at 7:35 pm

      i didn’t know the statue of liberty was copper!

      Reply
      • Multiple Mummy

        May 26, 2012 at 5:24 pm

        Just covered in a thin layer!

        Reply
    3. Nicole

      May 26, 2012 at 11:06 pm

      What a wonderful hands on way to learn about the statue of liberty, I will be adding this to out United States projects for sure!! Thanks so much for sharing!! Have a wonderful weekend!

      Reply
      • ScienceSparks

        May 27, 2012 at 7:48 pm

        and you!

        Reply
    4. Jojo

      June 01, 2016 at 2:14 pm

      Is it chemical or physical change?

      Reply
      • Yashika Aswal

        February 20, 2019 at 12:09 am

        This would be a chemical change.

        Reply
    5. your chemistry teacher

      July 10, 2017 at 9:19 pm

      NaCl+ CH3CH2OH is not possible…:D

      Reply
    6. JoJo Siwa

      November 09, 2020 at 9:37 pm

      I was wondering why the statue of liberty turned green! Thanks for the cleaning tip!

      Reply

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