I have been on a shell craft kick as of late. We recently made this cool sand Sea Shell Craft and even made some yummy Clam Shell Cookies. If you have been doing some beach trips this summer, it is time to break out your bag of shells and paint them in a new and exciting way. I found that flat, porous (not shiny) shells work better for this Bubbling Shell Craft. This kids activity combines craft with science as kids get to explore what happens when vinegar is added to baking soda.
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Bubbling Shell Craft
You will need:
- Baking soda
- White vinegar
- Various colors of powdered tempera
- Plastic cups
- Shells
- Spoon
- Paper towels
- Condiment squirt bottle (optional)
Mix equal parts baking soda and tempera paint in a small plastic cup. If you have never used powdered tempera before, it is just powdered paint that you add to water to make paint.
Add one shell to the center.
I filled up a condiment squirt bottle with vinegar to make it easier for my kids to add it to the baking soda. Now it was time for the magic to happen. My daughter squirted some vinegar into the cup to start the painting process.
She was thrilled when the concoction started bubbling and errupting! While all that was going on, the shell was getting painted in the cup. When the bubbling subsided, we used a spoon to fish out the colorful shell.
We repeated this process with different colored powdered tempera paint. Place the shells to dry on some paper towels. We left ours overnight and were greeted in the morning with some beautiful and vibrant shells!
For more baking soda and vinegar reactions, check out:
Baking Soda Experiments Baking Soda Easter Eggs
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devon says
Will it works with regular tempura paint? Or is it only powdered that would work?
Vicky says
Hi Devon, I don’t know if it would work with liquid paint. Since the powdered paint easily mixes with the baking soda it works well with the reaction. If you try it out with regular paint please let me know how it works. Thanks and have a great day!
denise welch says
Help, this didn’t work for me at all! What did I do wrong? i mixed powdered tempera with the baking soda, added the shell, then vinegar and it bubbled nicely but did not color the shell!
Kristie Sumner says
Hi, I cannot find powdered paint very easily. Will holi powdered paint work?