Imaginative Teaching Resources & Inspirational Career Ideas from the Chilled Food Industry
A Warm Snowman!
We’ve found a way to make a snowman even when there’s no sign of the white stuff out there! And we made snowman foam that kept on moving!!!
Tilly and Morgan used the BBC Science Focus Magazine instructions for making elephant toothpaste – we’re calling it snowman foam.
You’ll need a few more things for this experiment – including googles. You’ll also an adult to help.
Tip from us – the instructions say to use 9% hydrogen peroxide – but we used 3% as it’s easier to obtain over the counter at a chemist and meant we were able to touch the foam we created safely.
The Why
We have created a foam of oxygen bubbles that have been caught in the washing up liquid. The yeast contains an enzyme called Catalase that breaks down the hydrogen peroxide into oxygen gas and water. The oxygen gas gets trapped by the washing up liquid giving the foamy snow!
Hydrogen peroxide is poisonous to living things – which is why it’s also used in this low solution as disinfectants.
In the video did you see the steam and Morgan asking if it’s hot? That’s because it created an exothermic reaction and created heat. The foam produced is just water, washing up liquid and oxygen so it’s safe to touch and wash up!