Lemon Volcano Color Fun

Make a colorful lemon volcano with things you probably already have in your kitchen. This is a great way to learn about the colors of the rainbow for younger kids, and it is also a little science experiment for older children. 

Materials needed:
lemons
baking soda
vinegar (optional)
food coloring (we used powdered food color)
dish soap (optional)
squeeze bottle (for the vinegar & to practice motor skills)
knife
spoon
tray 

(Adults only) Cut open the lemons and remove the endings so the lemons can stand. 

Use a spoon or spatula to poke into the lemon flesh in order to release the juices. 

Add them all in a tray, as this activity is about to get messy. Add the food coloring to the lemons and mix them with the lemon juice. 

Dribble a little bit of dish soap to each lemon. This is an optional step, but it will make bubbles bigger. 

Sprinkle a generous layer of baking soda on each lemon, and there will be a small reaction immediately. In order to make the reaction bigger use a spoon and mix the baking soda further into the lemon. 

To make it more fun for my 2-year old I added vinegar to a squeeze bottle and we added that to the lemons. Mixing baking soda and vinegar forms carbon dioxide gas and cause the volcanos to erupt even more.