Kids learn better when they are actively involved in the lesson. It also helps if the experiment ends with surprising results. For a fun science project that teaches kids about pressure and gasses, try making a diet cola geyser; kids will love it. You need a pack of Mentos candy, a two-liter of diet cola and a funnel.
The Hypothesis
Show the kids the "equipment" for this experiment, the Mentos, the two-liter of diet cola and the funnel. Do not tell them that this will result in a geyser. That would ruin the surprise. Have them form a hypothesis about what will happen if you drop the candy into the pop. Hint at the carbon-dioxide gas in the cola which is under pressure and the fact that the gas must escape the two-liter bottle somehow (through the opening of the two-liter bottle). Use a balloon filled with air and let it go to release the air to get them thinking about gas and pressure.
The Set Up
Take the kids outside and set up the experiment. Open the cola and tell the kids to notice the fizz that develops as soon as the two-liter bottle was opened. Also have them note the hiss that erupted from the bottle as it was opened. Give the kids a chance to rethink their hypothesis and to make guesses about what will happen next. Unwrap the Mentos candy.
The Geyser
Drop about half of the Mentos into the diet cola bottle. If this has been done correctly, the sugar content of the Mentos candy will aggravate the carbon dioxide in the diet cola, and a huge geyser of diet cola will erupt from the bottle. This is why it is best to do this experiment outside. After the excitement, take the kids back inside and discuss what happened. Ask them to present their hypothesis and have them explain what was right or wrong about their guess.
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