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Indoor activity

Fizzy Rainbow Eruption Art

Mix baking soda paint and spray it with vinegar to create fizzing, bubbling rainbow eruptions that leave behind stunning abstract art!

Ages 3-12 0-1 hours Education 8/10

Materials

  • Baking Soda
  • Baking Tray
  • Food Colouring
  • Paper
  • Small Containers
  • Spoon
  • Spray Bottle
  • Water
  • White Vinegar

Illustrated Steps

1

Mix Your Fizzy Paint

Pour baking soda into small containers, add food colouring drops and a splash of water. Stir into a thick colourful paste.

2

Create Your Rainbow Layout

Place paper in a baking tray and dollop coloured baking soda blobs across the paper in any pattern you like.

3

Prepare the Eruption Spray

Fill a spray bottle with white vinegar. Test it with a quick squirt to make sure you get a fine mist.

4

Unleash the Fizzy Eruption!

Spray vinegar onto the baking soda blobs and watch each colour erupt into fizzing, bubbling fountains of colour!

What You’ll Create

Get ready for a science-powered art explosion! 🌈💥 Your mini scientists will mix baking soda with food colouring to create thick colourful pastes, spread them on paper, then unleash a vinegar spray that makes everything FIZZ and BUBBLE into a spectacular erupting rainbow. When the fizzing stops, you’re left with the most incredible abstract art — no two pieces are ever the same!

How to Set It Up

Step 1: Mix Your Fizzy Paint

Pour 2–3 spoonfuls of baking soda into each small container. Add a few drops of food colouring to each one — make red, blue, yellow, green, and any other colours you fancy! Stir in a tiny splash of water until you get a thick, slightly gritty paste. The thicker the better — it should hold its shape on a spoon.

Step 2: Create Your Rainbow Layout

Place a sheet of paper inside the baking tray (this catches the fizzy overflow!). Using the spoon, dollop blobs of each coloured baking soda paste onto the paper. You can make rows, circles, random splatters — any pattern you like! Leave small gaps between the colours so they have room to fizz and spread.

Step 3: Prepare the Eruption Spray

Fill your spray bottle with white vinegar. ⚠️ Adult Helper Needed — Help younger children fill and operate the spray bottle. Give it a test squirt to make sure it works — you want a fine mist, not a jet blast!

Step 4: Unleash the Fizzy Eruption!

Ready? Aim the spray bottle at the baking soda blobs and SPRAY! Watch in amazement as each colour erupts into a fizzing, bubbling fountain! 🌋 Spray different areas and watch the colours mix and flow together. Keep spraying until all the fizzing stops. Let it dry completely to reveal your one-of-a-kind eruption masterpiece!

Have fun!

  • 🧪 Predict which colour will fizz the most — test your hypothesis!
  • 🌈 Try spraying from high up versus close — compare the eruption patterns!
  • 🎯 Make a bullseye pattern with the colours and see how they spread outward!
  • 🖼️ Create a whole gallery — each painting is completely unique!

Why It’s Amazing

  • Chemical Reactions: Children witness a real acid-base reaction — baking soda (a base) reacts with vinegar (an acid) to produce carbon dioxide gas bubbles! 🔬

  • Colour Theory: Watching colours fizz and merge together teaches colour mixing in the most dramatic way possible! 🎨

  • Cause and Effect: Spraying vinegar and instantly seeing the eruption builds understanding of cause-and-effect relationships. 💡

  • Sensory Wonder: The fizzing sounds, bubbly textures, and vibrant colours create an unforgettable multi-sensory experience! ✨

Pro Tips

For ages 3–5: Pre-mix the baking soda pastes and let them focus on the dolloping and spraying. Use chunky squeeze bottles instead of spray bottles if fine motor skills are still developing.

For ages 5–8: Let them mix their own colours and experiment with paste thickness. Challenge them to predict what colour two fizzing blobs will make when they meet.

For ages 8–12: Introduce the science vocabulary (acid, base, carbon dioxide). Have them write up a “lab report” with predictions and observations.

Secret Pro Move: Add a drop of washing-up liquid to the vinegar spray — it traps the CO₂ in coloured bubbles that sit on top like a foamy sculpture before popping! 🫧