Baking Soda Vinegar Powered Steam Boat

Materials

• Baking soda

• White vinegar

• Plastic bottles

• Straws

• Permanent markers

• Hot glue

Directions

1. Decorate your boat using permanent markers

2. Drill a hole in the bottom of the boat & insert a straw in it. Place about an inch of the straw inside the bottle (the rest sticks out the back), then secure it with hot glue around the edges.

3. Turn the bottle sideways, and cover the straw end with your fingertip while you pour about 1 cup of vinegar into the bottle.

4.  Then, keeping the bottle flat and the straw side up (so nothing spills out), drop a few spoonfuls of baking soda into the bottle. Make sure to keep the baking soda on one end and the vinegar on the other.

5. Give the bottle one quick shake, and place it quickly into your pool or tub. And it’s off!

adapted from Red Tri

What’s Happening?
When vinegar (an acid) meets baking soda (an alkali), they react to form a gas (carbon dioxide). This gas must escape the bottle, so it pushes out through the straw, which in turn powers your boat across the pool. Once all the gas has escaped, your boat slows down.