This DIY Potions Activity is the perfect activity to keep kids busy on a warm day. Great for kids of all ages and is a fun STEM or sensory activity as well.
This activity is best done outdoors as it can get a little bit messy but is easy to clean up with a hose and spray down when complete. Depending on the amount of vinegar and baking soda available it can be played with for hours and can be customized in many different ways.
For this activity, you will need a sensory bin of some sort. We love to use one with different compartments so we don’t have to get as many bowls and cups dirty. You will also need baking soda, vinegar, food coloring, glitter, spoons, cups, bowls, spray bottles, and any other optional potion add-ins or toys to go with.
This DIY potion making activity is perfect on its own, can be used as a STEM activity for kids, or is great for a Harry Potter-themed party or play day. This DIY Happy Potter potion making is a great activity to do after reading the books and one that all kids will love.
For more fun baking soda and vinegar fizzy play be sure to also check out this fizzy American flag-themed sensory play tray.
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DIY Magic Potions Set-Up Tips
*For this sensory tray, make sure to use a waterproof tray. We found an awesome art tray in the Target dollar spot that we use for a lot of our sensory trays. If you don’t have a sensory tray available, we’ve also used a sheet pan, serving tray, or other plastic tray or bin.
*You will also need spray bottles to help prolong the reactions and add to the fun. We just used spray bottles that came with one of our tye-dye kits and that we saved after completing the tye-dying. These worked great!
*For our DIY potions setup, we used baking soda and vinegar. We mixed food coloring into the baking soda and stirred it together to create colors of baking soda in a few of the bowls or sections of our container.
We also mixed vinegar and different colors of food coloring together in spray bottles. This way we could sprinkle baking soda into the vinegar and squirt vinegar into the baking soda.
*Some fun add-ins to the potions include different colors and types of glitter, small and large sequins, and different essential oils for scented fun.
DIY Potions Activity for Kids
Materials
- Bin or tray (with different compartments optional)
- Bowls, cups, and spoons
- Squirt bottles
- Vinegar
- Baking soda
- Food coloring
- Glitter
Activity:
- Begin by filling a desired number of bowls with baking soda.
- Mix a different color of food coloring into each bowl (leave one plain white as well) until the baking soda turns that color.
- Fill the desired number of bowls or squirt bottles with vinegar. Add food coloring to each bowl or cup (you can leave one clear) and stir to mix together.
- Add different colors and shapes of glitter to different bowls of vinegar and baking soda.
- Let kids go and explore with the fun potion making set-up.
- Squirt vinegar into baking soda sections, add glitter and sequins, mix together to see the reactions and pretend to make fun potions.
- Sprinkle baking soda with a spoon into the bowls of vinegar, add glitter and sequins, and mix together to see these reactions and make fun potions this way as well.
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