Sizzling Science Pumpkins

Ohh, you are in for a treat with sizzling science pumpkins! Baking soda + vinegar = awesome. Baking soda + vinegar INSIDE OF A PUMPKIN? The most awesome thing to ever exist.

A close up shot of bubbles pouring out and over a pumpkin with the top cut off, demonstrating one of the best Fall activities for kids!

Kids LOVE sizzling science pumpkins

Do you have kids who go crazy for baking soda + vinegar experiments?

Or, kids who count down the days until fall so that you can do every pumpkin activity known to mankind?

Do you love activities that are hands-on and perfect for independent play?

If you answered “Yes!” to any of the above, then baking soda & vinegar pumpkins are for you!

Related: Our GIANT 10-foot fall coloring banner is the cutest fall art project ever.

Sizzling science pumpkins are one of the best fall activities for kids

There’s something about Fall that just has excitement in the air.

Maybe it’s the fact that it’s not 115 degrees anymore.

Maybe it’s the fact that there are pumpkins EVERYWHERE. *heart eyes*

These sizzling little pumpkins are just the cherry on top.

Looking for more fall activities for kids? I thought you might ask:

Materials

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Pumpkin with the top cut off – cutting for adults to do
Baking soda
Vinegar
Shallow bowls – ours are discontinued, but this colorful 10-pack of bowls looks great
Spoons
Eye droppers
Coloring – optional, but adds a ton of extra fun
Large tray

Several kids' hands mixing baking soda, vinegar, and colors in a cut open pumpkin in a large metal tray. The tray is filled with colorful vinegar and pumpkin seeds, truly one of the best activities for kids!

Directions

It’s just about taking your materials and setting them up so they’re accessible for everyone.

We like doing these kinds of activities on low tables so that the kids can see inside of the pumpkin as it’s fizzing.

Place the pumpkin in the center of a large tray.
Set bowls of baking soda around the table. Add in spoons.
If using coloring, add it to the vinegar and place those bowls around the table, too. Add in spoons or eyedroppers.
Let the littles mix and match!

Note: Sometimes, we add a few cups of baking soda into the pumpkin to start to give it some height. Our students love seeing it ooze out of the side of the pumpkin, and a bit of vinegar to begin helps to achieve this.

A close up shot of a child's hand holding an eye dropped in pumpkin with the top cut off filled with black vinegar and floating pumpkin seeds, demonstrating one of the best Fall activities for kids!

What else reacts with baking soda besides vinegar?

The sizzling of baking soda & vinegar is simply an acid & base reaction, and we can recreate this with baking soda & lemon juice.

We LOVE making lemon volcanoes, and you could easily add fresh lemons cut in half instead of or in addition to the vinegar.

If you are sensitive to the smell of vinegar, do this project outside. Personally, the scent of vinegar makes me 🤢, but projects like this don’t bother me at all when we are outside.

Children working together on adding the baking soda and colorful vinegar to the inside of a pumpkin,

Ask juicy questions like this to deepen the learning and fun!

When the kids are doing their thing exploring and experimenting, adults can engage them in open-ended questions to facilitate discussion and deepen the play.

Before the activity:

How does the pumpkin smell?
What is inside the pumpkin? How does it feel?
Why do pumpkins have seeds?
What do you think will happen when the baking soda and vinegar get mixed in the pumpkin?

During the activity:

What sounds do you hear?
How does it smell?
What happens if you use a LOT of vinegar on a little bit of baking soda?
Will this make the pumpkin explode?

A close up of a pumpkin cut in half with black bubbles oozing over the sides, one of the best Fall activities for kids!

Follow-up Fall activities for kids to try, too

Baking soda and vinegar trays: Spread a thin layer of baking soda on the bottom of a shallow tray. Invite your child to use eye droppers to add colorful vinegar on top.

Grow your own pumpkins: Remove some seeds and see if you can grow your own pumpkin plants!

Make your own pumpkin seeds to eat: There are a million recipes online for making sweet or savory pumpkin seeds. Scoop some seeds out before you begin and bake them up for a yummy, healthy snack.