The first experiment I ever conducted with my children using baking soda, admittedly, didn’t turn out well. Long before I’d even heard of homeschooling, I was doing “summer fun school” with our family and the children of a friend. I had one of those easy-to-do-science-experiments-at-home books and was going to amaze and astound the preschool set with my vinegar and baking soda boat. As often happens when the uninitiated plunge headlong into science at home, we had disastrous if comical consequences. My children still tell of the day mom tried to do that boat in the bathtub and sprayed us all with that white foaming stuff. You see the vinegar didn’t immediately mix with the baking soda, so when I picked the boat up out of the water where it was supposed to be motoring about, the vinegar hit the soda and all the little upturned faces over whom I was holding said boat got liberally sprayed. All that to tell you that baking soda is a scientific wonder, but there are dangers not least to one’s status as she who can do anything and knows everything.

If you’re not intimidated read on and discover how you can incorporate baking soda into your scientific explorations.

Basic Stuff

Scientific Models
The recipe for play clay requires three ingredients: baking soda, cornstarch, and water. You can dry play clay by air, oven, or microwave and use it to make all kinds of scientific models and constructions. Read the Arm & Hammer Play Clay brochure for the recipe and instructions for using it.

What is baking powder and how does it work?
Since baking soda is a component of baking powder, this article explains what happens when you use baking soda or baking powder in your recipes.

Earth Science

Erupting Volcano
There are a number of construction methods you can use to create an erupting volcano. Good old papier mache and tempera paint will work just fine. Whatever you decide to use to build your volcano, you will need to place at its heart a glass or plastic container. Once you’re ready to have your volcano erupt, you’ll need to put baking soda into that container. Make a solution of vinegar and food coloring to simulate the orange red of lava and pour the mixture slowly into the top of your volcano. You can control the amount of lava that flows out by pouring a slow stream into the volcano. You’ll want to do this outside, over flooring that you can clean up easily, or with a water proof drop cloth underneath.

Chemistry

Vinegar & Baking Soda Explanation
Just what happens when you mix vinegar and baking soda? The simple explanation is that carbon dioxide is formed. But there’s more to it than that as this page explains.

Chemical Reactions and How You Know When You’ve Made Something New
This experiment is for older kids since it involves the use of hydrochloric acid.

Cabbage Indicator
This version of a traditional experiment demonstrates that red cabbage juice is an indicator that changes color when it is in an acid or a base. So, you can use it to determine if something is acid or base. This experiment uses baking soda to give a dramatic result.

Law of Conservation of Matter
An easy experiment that demonstrates that when a chemical reaction occurs, the mass of the result can be no greater or no less than the mass of the substances before they were combined.

Physics

Baking Soda Bubbles
Float bubbles on carbon dioxide to explain the concept of density.

Bubble Bomb
Pop a plastic bag with the power of fizz.

Rockets with Chemical and Air Propulsion
A film canister is used in this experiment to study the principle that for every action there is an equal reaction.

Biology

Acid Rain and Plant Growth
How does pH affect the growth of plants? This experiment tests neutral and acidic water on two different plants.

Natural Dye Lesson Plan
In this experiment you will make dyes from a variety of natural sources and then investigate how the addition of an acid (vinegar) or a base (baking soda) change the color of the dye.

Just a Little Baking Soda Humor

Science Guy Bill Nye Killed In Massive Vinegar/Baking-Soda Explosion
An article from The Onion where nothing is what it seems.