Halloween chemistry
Cackle with delight over these spooktacular Halloween-themed experiments and activities
Read storyMagical experiments and demonstrations
Demonstrations from Exhibition Chemistry
Make water ‘disappear’ with a superabsorbent polymer
Use just sodium polyacrylate, water and table salt to amaze learners and show how chemists modify materials for their purposes
The genie in the bottle
Demonstrating the catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide
Dancing flames
An experiment with an eerie green flame which really provides a wow factor
Oscillating magic?
Wow them with a colour change reaction
Magic beakers
Declan Fleming shows you how to capture your students’ imaginations with spectacular demonstrations
Costumes, creepy crawlies and corrosives
Clue up on the chemistry behind these spooky subjects
What are Halloween costume masks made from?
Find out about the creative chemistry behind costume masks
Minibeasts with chemical superpowers
Discover how insect and arachnid defence mechanisms are being used for new medicines and technologies
How do fireflies produce light?
Find out how fireflies and other creatures use bioluminescence
What’s the strongest acid in the world?
Delve into the highly corrosive world of superacids
Blood, slime and food
Try these investigations involving some Halloween favourites
Blood
Decomposing hydrogen peroxide with blood
Mixing hydrogen peroxide with blood to produce a foam explosive
The chemistry of iron | 16–18 years
Practice questions give context to transition metal chemistry and equilibria using the examples of haemoglobin and iron
Slime
PVA polymer slime
In this fun class experiment student will make slime by adding borax solution to PVA. Includes kit list and safety instructions.
Quicksand investigation | 14–16 years
Discover the properties of non-Newtonian fluids and how these could help you escape from quicksand
