Making Elephant Toothpaste

Making Elephant Toothpaste

One of the take-home activities at Ilsley Library’s curbside pick-up last week was “elephant toothpaste” — and hoo boy was it a hit at my house. It’s basically a big foamy chemical reaction created using easy-to-find ingredients. So I thought I’d share the recipe here, in case you missed the Ilsley kit.

I found instructions here, and have summarized them below.

What you need:

1 Tbsp dry yeast

liquid dish soap

1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide

food coloring

a glass or bottle

safety glasses (mostly for fun; the foam is impressive, but it’s not going to knock your socks off.)

Directions:

Set up your materials somewhere you don’t mind making a mess. (We did this outside. If you do it inside, put a tray or bowl under your bottle or cup to catch the foam.)

Pour the hydrogen peroxide into your bottle or glass.

Add a big squirt of dish soap and mix it up.

Squeeze in some food coloring and mix it up.

In a measuring cup, mix together the yeast with 3 Tbsp warm water. Let it sit for a minute to proof.

Pour the yeast mixture into the hydrogen peroxide-soap mixture and stand back to see what happens!

Enjoy! Oh, and please don’t eat the “toothpaste.” Or get it in your eyes. Hydrogen peroxide can irritate your eyes.

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