Boo! Spooky science
Where did Halloween come from?
The origin of Halloween dates back to over 2,000 years ago and comes from an ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain (pronounced “sah-win”), which means summer’s end. The festival celebrated the end of summer and the harvest season, and marks the beginning of the new year on November 1. The Ancient Celts were superstitious people and believed that on October 31, the spirits of the dead roam freely in towns and villages. Fearing that the spirits would harm them by damaging their crops and spreading diseases, the Celts dressed up in scary costumes and fire up huge bonfires to keep the spirits away.
Nowadays, Halloween is celebrated by children and grown-ups all around the world by dressing up and going around the neighbourhood trick-or-treating!
Halloween is just around the corner and what better way to celebrate than to get hands-on with some spooky science experiments and tricks!
Glowing slime
What you need:
- Washable PVA glue
- Borax powder (2 teaspoons)
- 1 cup warm water
- Measuring cups
- Bowl
- Spoon
- Highlighter or glow paint
- Blacklight
Follow these steps:
- Stir the glue and ½ cup of warm water together until mixture is even
- Add highlighter ink or glow paint to the glue mixture
- In a separate container, dissolve the 2 teaspoons of borax in ½ cup warm water.
- Stir the borax solution into glue mixture. Use your hands or a spoon to mix ingredients together to make the glowing slime.
- Store your slime in the dark. Shine a blacklight on the slime to make it glow.
Witches brew
What you need?
- Water
- Highlighter
- Black light or flashlight
- Container
Follow these steps:
- Carefully open the lid of the highlighter
- Pull out the soft ink insert and cut it open
- Fill the container halfway with water
- Pour the highlighter ink into the container and let it soak for at least 10 minutes
- To make your witches brew glow, head into a dark room and shine a black light on the water; if you don’t have any black light, use a flashlight shine it from under the container.
Exploding pumpkin
What you need
- Mini pumpkins
- Baking soda
- Vinegar
- Dish soap
- Food colouring
- Tray
Follow these steps
- Start by cutting out the top of the pumpkin (ask an adult for help). Keep the opening small and clear out the seeds to make the eruption more fun
- Place your mini pumpkins on a tray
- Add a few spoonful of baking soda to each pumpkin. Add a few drops of dish soap and a few drops of food colouring of your choice
- Slowly add vinegar into the pumpkins and watch the magic happens
Interested in hosting a Terror Science party for your next birthday event? Send us an email at sydney@nuttyscientists.com
Share with us your spooky creations by tagging us on Facebook or Instagram!
Happy Halloween everyone!!
Professor Helix
