Fizzy Grapefruit Scented Cloud Dough

Here is a totally different Sensory & Science activity that our children would enjoy and learn from.

To make our cloud dough, I combined a cup of flour and a cup of baking soda, plus a quarter cup of vegetable oil in a deep tray. Then I add one-half cup of a grapefruit Jell-O powder for colour. For scenting, I add a few drops of a grapefruit-scented essential oil. I thoroughly mixed the ingredients for colour consistency.

I kneaded, scooped, squeezed and played with the cloud dough. It’s crumbly and it felt great between my fingers. It’s oily but it did not stick on my hands. A few drops of the essential oil makes the cloud dough smells like a powdered grapefruit.

Note: We can either use tempera paint, Kool-Aid powder, oil-based colouring food or mashed chalk for colour.

Then, slowly, I squirted vinegar. Look what happened. The dough fizzed.

What causes the cloud dough to fizz?

Baking soda reacts to vinegar. When they are mixed they produced a gas called carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide makes the bubbles and the hissing sound.

Your kids, for sure will have fun playing with this cloud dough. They will smell, scoop, mold, or even taste the dough. Halfway to their play, you can bring out the vinegar and or a dropper or a spray bottle. Explain to them the science behind the reaction on the dough. Have fun.