-109.3 F…..is there a cooler way to start the school year?
We decided to kick our homeschooling year off in the coolest way we knew how……. -109.3 degrees cool! We had a fun day with dry ice!
So, what exactly is dry ice? I’m so glad you asked! Dry ice, very simply, is compressed carbon dioxide. Compressing the gas into a solid makes it become extremely cold….. -109.3 degrees to be exact! As the solid turns back into a gas (called sublimation) it does not go through a ”liquid” state like water. This is why it is called “dry” ice.
We studied some of the uses of dry ice and carbon dioxide in industries and I admit that the nerd in me is all stirred up with lots of ideas for a science fair project …..but today, we just wanted to have some fun! Here are a few projects we chose!
Flash freeze (yeah, say that 3 times fast!)- We mixed rubbing alcohol and dry ice together. The alcohol won’t freeze so it makes a “super cooling liquid”. You can then flash freeze items in it. Many people will flash freeze leaves and flowers but we decided to flash freeze popcicles! It took about 7 minutes to freeze them from room temperature but I think it would have been faster had we let the mixture sit and cool a little longer before adding the popcicles.
‘Boo Bubbles’ – We saw this one online and knew we had to try it! 
Use a large container with a spicket. Connect clear tubing to the open spicket and drop some dry ice in water inside the container. (I used a separate container inside the spicket container) Then dip the other end of the tube into some soapy water and pull it back out. A bubble will form on the end of the tube and begin filling with the carbon dioxide fog! If you are careful, you can even hold these little fog filled bubbles. Of course, the little ones loved popping them to watch the fog burst out!
The kids had fun making mini cauldrons (bowls of water with dry ice in them). You can also add a few drops of dish soap to them but make sure that you do this over a sink or have the mini cauldron setting in a larger container. All of the soap suds are filled with the “fog” and it’s lots of fun to grab a handful and clap your hands together!
You can also take a strip of cloth, dip it into soapy water and carefully run it across one of your ‘cauldrons’. It will make a huge bubble. Fun to watch it grow and eventually burst!
We also dropped a small amount of dry ice in a glass of apple juice. Once the dry ice has completely sublimated, you can take a drink and you have a nice cold carbonated drink! 
Suddenly, the kiddos all wanted a their very own bubbling glass of apple juice!
Put a small piece of dry ice in a metal bowl or a large metal spoon. It makes a horrible noise….sort of like fingernails across a chalk board but worse. My son loved it!
Dry ice bomb- (Just so you know…..these are illegal in some places!) Do this outside in a safe area. Use a water bottle and fill half with water and drop some pieces of dry ice inside of it. Twist the cap on tightly and get away from it! It will explode.
A few safety tips when working with dry ice:
~Always use insulated gloves. Never touch it with your bare hands! It will burn and can cause frostbite.
~Tongs (not thongs) are great for picking it up.
~Make sure to use it in a well ventilated area. Remember, this is carbon dioxide….the stuff you breathe out….. it displaces oxygen so you don’t want it to get too concentrated.
