Here’s a super cool science experiment for kids that requires only a few common materials. In this experiment you’ll create a chemical reaction using baking soda and vinegar that will make a baggie explode!

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With school out for summer we’ve been busy doing all kinds of outdoor learning activities! One of our favorites is this baking soda and vinegar experiment~ Exploding Baggies! Not only is it the experiment itself really exciting, but the process is perfect for encouraging all kinds of predictions and theories. (This post contains affiliate links.)

Science Experiment: Exploding Baggies

Materials for Exploding Baggies

• Ziploc plastic sandwich baggie
• Water
• Vinegar
• Baking soda
• Paper towel
• Food coloring (optional)

Directions for Exploding Baggies

1. Tear a paper towel into a square shape. (We ripped off one piece of a select-a-size roll and then tore that piece in half to make a square. It doesn’t have to be perfect!)

2. Place 1 1/2 tablespoons of baking soda onto the center of your paper towel square.

3. Fold your paper towel up so you’ve created a little packet of baking soda and set it aside.

4. Place 1/2 cup of water and 1/4 cup of vinegar into your baggie. (Add some food coloring if you’d like!)

5. Head outside and find a spot to explode your baggie. Carefully and quickly drop the packet of baking soda into the baggie and seal it shut completely. Give it a little shake, set it down, move away, and watch what happens!

The baggie begins to fill up…

…. and fills up with even more carbon dioxide.

After a few seconds your baggie should explode with a loud “POP”!

Our first baggie didn’t explode so we had to hypothesize as to why it didn’t work. We think we let too much of the carbon dioxide out before we go the bag sealed.

After quite a few successful explosions, Lucy used our extra materials to try out other ideas. She wondered what would happen in you didn’t use a paper towel or if you changed the amounts of the different ingredients. She was busy for quite a while testing out all her ideas!

What’s Going On?

The mixing of the baking soda and vinegar are creating a chemical reaction! The two ingredients are creating carbon dioxide gas. The gas fills the baggie and then runs out of room causing the explosion- POP!

Want to Go Even Further? 

Even more activities to inspire creativity and critical thinking for various ages.

1. Let your child experiment with baking soda and vinegar on his or her own (with supervision of course).

2. Try out another experiment that creates a chemical reaction with pennies.

3. Create a sand volcano!

Find more STEM activities in our ebook! Learn more about it here, or buy it now here!