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Friends Art Lab / Blog / Fizzing Turkey Thanksgiving Science

Fizzing Turkey Thanksgiving Science

Author: Kristian Klebofski    Published: 10/31/2023     Updated: 04/18/2024

We don’t let a Thanksgiving go by without making fizzing turkey Thanksgiving science! Simple supplies get you started in minutes and will keep your kids gobbling with fun.

Fizzing Turkey Thanksgiving Science - a shallow teal tray is lined with baking soda and on top are a foam turkey body + squirt on colored vinegar. Six small jars of colored vinegar sit around the tray, each with an eyedropper.
Table of Contents:
  1. Fizzing turkey Thanksgiving science is EPIC FUN!
  2. Materials
  3. Directions
  4. How do you make science fun for kids?
  5. Baking soda + vinegar make fizzing turkey Thanksgiving science the best
  6. Bonus fizzing turkey Thanksgiving science tips
  7. FAQ

Fizzing turkey Thanksgiving science is EPIC FUN!

It’s got everything you need for Thanksgiving science:

  • Color mixing
  • Bubbling, fizzing, and sizzling
  • Turkeys
  • Creativity
  • More bubbling, fizzing, and sizzling
  • Easy, inexpensive materials

I first learned about this activity years ago from my Instagram friend Katy Renfro (@prekwolfpack), and my eyeballs almost fell out of my head when I first saw it.

Related: Don’t miss our GIANT 10-foot Thanksgiving coloring page for larger-than-life Thanksgiving art

The materials needed: brown craft foam, orange craft foam, googly eyes, a shallow tray, six jars of colored vinegar, a box of baking soda, and six plastic eyedroppers.
Save your foam scraps! I’m using old pieces of used craft foam and they worked perfectly.

Materials

  • Baking soda
  • Vinegar
  • Coloring – ex: liquid watercolors or food dye
  • Small jars or cups
  • Craft foam – in brown + orange (felt could work, too)
  • Googly eyes – optional (you could also draw them on)
  • Shallow tray
  • Eyedroppers or spoons
Three photos: (1) brown craft foam with an outline of a turkey body and orange craft foam with a triangle outline for the beak, (2) the brown turkey body being cut out from the foam, (3) the foam turkey body put together with the beak and two googly eyes.

Directions

First, prep the materials

  • Make the colored vinegar by adding a splash of coloring into small jars or cups of vinegar. Add one eyedropper or spoon to each color.
  • Make the turkey body from craft foam by cutting out a simple “8” shape where the top loop is smaller than the bottom, adding eyes and a foam beak.
  • Spread a thin layer of baking soda into the base of a shallow tray and set the turkey body in the middle.
Fizzing Turkey Thanksgiving Science - a shallow teal tray is lined with baking soda and on top are a foam turkey body + squirt on blue and orange vinegar. Six small jars of colored vinegar sit around the tray, each with an eyedropper.

Next, start the experiment

The very best part!

Invite your child to add the colorful vinegar around the turkey for its (sizzling) “feathers.”

When the colorful vinegar touches the baking soda, it will bubble and sizzle and delight all who are around.

For real, this is F-U-N.

Kids will have a blast making colorful feathers, and the experiment lasts 10x longer than it might look like.

The vinegar + baking soda reaction happens over and over (and over) again, even in spots where it has already been done. You can add vinegar to the same spot of baking soda many, many times before it stops sizzling.

A DIY foam turkey body sits in a shallow tray of baking soda.

How do you make science fun for kids?

Oh, preschool science is effortlessly fun.

Preschool science includes bubbles and oobleck and sensory bins and baking soda + vinegar and plants and pumpkins and people and basically everything amazing.

Kids are natural scientists, and I have never taught a group of preschoolers who weren’t out of their minds for a science experiment.

I also taught college for eight years and my big students were equally dazzled.

If I could only teach two things for the rest of my days, it would be art and science. Both are the best.

A before and after of Fizzing Turkey Thanksgiving Science where blue and purple vinegar are fresh and bubbly, and after once the bubbles have dissolved.

Baking soda + vinegar make fizzing turkey Thanksgiving science the best

You might also know about my obsession with baking soda and vinegar science activities (#cantstopwontstop), and I am delighted that fizzing turkeys have joined the rotation.

I often gift a set of baking soda, vinegar, and coloring to kids as birthday and holiday gifts and it’s a HIT. (No, seriously, kids and adults get so excited.)

If you’re new to baking soda and vinegar experiments, just know the possibilities are endless.

Try some of these baking soda + vinegar projects, too

  • Frozen Halloween Hands
  • Fizzing Apples
  • Dancing Apple Seeds
  • Hidden Colors
a close up of Fizzing Turkey Thanksgiving Science's colorful feathers

Bonus fizzing turkey Thanksgiving science tips

  • You need less baking soda than you think! Spread a thin layer and when it’s saturated and not fizzing anymore, clean it out, add a new layer, and begin again.
  • Craft foam is ideal, but felt or paper could work, too. The nice thing about foam is that it still looks perfect after it’s wet, but a wet felt or paper turkey is better than no turkey.
  • You can dilute your vinegar with water in almost equal parts, and it will still fizz and look fantastic.

FAQ

What age is this project recommended for?

Any that can safely enjoy the materials! We do this project with our 3-6 year old preschoolers with appropriate supervision.

What I can I substitute for vinegar?

Lemon juice works in place of vinegar, too.

How do you clean this when done?

We usually dump the liquid in the sink then scrape the wet baking soda into the garbage can.

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Kristian

Hi, I’m Kristian!

I have spent over 15 years in the preschool classroom, I have a Master's degree in Early Childhood Education, and I was a college professor of education for eight years. My passion is sharing creative learning activities for children and I'm so happy you're here.

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