Halloween

Copper sulfate burns with more of a blue-green flame. (Anne Helmenstine) — Illuminating your Halloween jack o’ lantern with green fire is way more interesting than using a candle. Green fire just looks witchy! The effect is easy to achieve and yields fantastic results. Green Fire Jack o’ Lantern Materials You only need a few basic materials to put green fire in […]

Make a Green Fire Jack o’ Lantern

This entry was posted on October 15, 2018 by Anne Helmenstine

Use white face paint and black eyeliner to make a simple skeleton costume. — Many commercial face paints contain chemicals you don’t want, such as perfumes, parabens, heavy metals, or allergens. They are also expensive for what you get. Here is a simple recipe for a homemade white face paint you can make that uses natural, non-toxic ingredients. White Face Paint Materials You only […]

Easy White Face Paint Recipe Recently updated !

This entry was posted on October 13, 2018 by Anne Helmenstine (updated on October 13, 2018)

Shine a low pressure sodium lamp on a flame colored with table salt for a black flame pumpkin. — First, there was the green fire pumpkin. Then, I made a rainbow flames pumpkin. That was cool, but then there was the flamethrower jack o’ lantern. How could I top that? Well, this black flames Halloween jack o’ lantern is less likely to require a fire extinguisher, and actually way […]

Black Flames Halloween Jack o’ Lantern

This entry was posted on October 3, 2018 by Anne Helmenstine (updated on October 4, 2018)

Smoke Bomb Halloween Jack o' Lantern — If you mix dry ice and water, you can make fog come out of a carved pumpkin. That’s great if you have dry ice, but it’s not always easy to get or keep for when you need it. A similar cool option is to burn a smoke bomb inside a […]

Smoke Bomb Halloween Jack o’ Lantern

This entry was posted on October 30, 2017 by Anne Helmenstine (updated on September 24, 2018)

The secret to turning gummy worms into Frankenworms is the baking soda and vinegar chemical reaction. — Frankenworms are gummy worm candies that seem to move with a zombie life of their own. Making the worms dance is a fun science experiment, perfect for Halloween. The project uses candy, baking soda, and vinegar, so it’s safe enough for young children. Frankenworms Materials There’s nothing magical about gummy […]

Dancing Frankenworms Gummy Worm Science Experiment

This entry was posted on October 23, 2017 by Anne Helmenstine (updated on September 24, 2018)

Halloween science experiments may be scary or fun (or both)! — October is the perfect month for spooky Halloween science experiments and projects. Here’s a collection of projects to make gooey slime, glow in the dark items, and creepy pumpkins. Halloween Science Experiments Ectoplasm Slime – Whether or not you believe spirits generate ectoplasm (ala Slimer in the movie Ghostbusters), slime […]

Halloween Science Experiments Recently updated !

This entry was posted on October 14, 2017 by Anne Helmenstine (updated on October 13, 2018)