Plastic Easter Egg Science Experiment

Grab your baking soda and vinegar because it’s time for the coolest plastic Easter egg science experiment. As a heads up, this one will be on your list of activities to do every Spring because it’s just about the greatest thing ever.

A mini muffin tin filled with plastic Easter egg halves sits on a purple plastic mat. In each egg half is baking soda, soap, coloring, and vinegar and they're all mixed. Two young children's hands and arms are adding vinegar to the eggs with spoons.

Plastic Easter egg science comes alive with baking soda & vinegar

Some people love mugs and buy them wherever they go, always searching for the next new, marvelous mug.

Others love shoes or hats, building fabulous collections from everywhere they can in the world.

Me? Oh, I collect baking soda and vinegar experiments. 😂

I absolutely, without question, can never, ever, ever get enough.

🐰 Related: Looking for more Easter fun? We’ve got a full collection of Easter activities waiting for you!

There’s no such thing as too many baking soda & vinegar experiments

A limit simply does not exist.

Baking soda + vinegar + jelly beans? Yes, please.
Baking soda + vinegar + candy canes? I can’t live without it.
Baking soda + vinegar + plastic gloves? I’ll take two and a dozen to go.
Baking soda + vinegar + apple seeds? A thousand times, yes!

I couldn’t set this up fast enough when I first learned about this Easter science activity from the one-and-only and my dear friend Susie from Busy Toddler. (Thank you, you brilliant friend! I’ll whip you up a batch of play dough to thank you for sharing this.)

Materials

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Plastic eggs
Baking soda
Vinegar
Eyedroppers or spoons
Coloring – ex: liquid watercolors or food coloring
Mini muffin tin or egg carton
Dish soap (optional)

plastic egg halves sitting in a mini muffin tin, each filled with baking soda and few drops of coloring.

How to make a plastic Easter egg science experiment

This is quick to set up and is a perfect opportunity for your child to help set up an activity with you.

First, set one plastic egg half in each mini muffin tin or egg carton cavity.
Next, layer your egg halves with a small scoop of baking soda + a few drops of coloring + another small scoop of baking soda (so kids can’t see the coloring).
Last, invite your child to use eye droppers or spoons to add vinegar to the eggs.

As the vinegar mixes with the baking soda, they’ll start to bubble, and the colors will peek through.

It’s wild, epic, colorful, and complete and utter fun!

An adult hands squirts some dish soap into the plastic Easter egg halves sitting in a mini muffin tin.

Optional but awesome – adding dish soap

This is an optional step, but it’s worth it.

Adding a small squirt of dish soap to your baking soda + coloring layers will make everything foamy when the vinegar is added.

This doesn’t change the bubbling reaction but makes the baking soda + vinegar bubbles last longer.

Two young girls smile and laugh at the plastic Easter egg science experiment: a mini muffin tin, each filled with baking soda and few drops of coloring with vinegar on top causing the egg contents to bubble.

What do kids learn from the plastic Easter egg science experiment?

One of the greatest and most exciting things about science with kids is that they’re never learning “just” science.

Rather, an activity like this might fulfill a teacher’s Science activity for the lesson plan, but when kids do such activities, they’re learning science and more.

🧪 science: chemical reactions, acids and bases, cause and effect, color theory (mixing colors)

➕ Math: more and less, measurement, counting

🖐🏼 Motor: pinching skills, hand-eye coordination, using pre-writing muscles

💕 Social: sharing materials, teamwork, cooperation

📚 Literacy: new vocabulary, following directions, narrating what they see and do

Just like the baking soda and coloring, activities like this are layered in learning.

How we clean up after plastic Easter egg science

The baking soda will turn into a paste-like texture, and that’s easy to scoop directly into the garbage.

Then, we rinse off the eggs + other supplies in the kitchen sink.

We also run the plastic eggs through the dishwasher in a dishwasher basket.

I can’t wait for you to try this “egg-citing” science experiment!

Frequently Asked Questions

What age is this recommended for?

Any that can safely enjoy the materials.

Does the color stain hands?

Yes and no. If you squirt the concentrated color directly on your hands, it will temporarily stain. However, your kids likely won’t be touching the actual bubbles. If they do and they want to make this a sensory project, too, the color will come off after a hand wash or two. 😉

Should I do this inside or outside?

Either! We do both.