Kitchen Science Experiments

Experimenting with gases and liquid nitrogen

This week Derek is with Dr Chris Muirhead from Birmingham University and student volunteer Mary from Hills Road Sixth Form College in Cambridge. They'll be using liquid nitrogen, which is very cold and can be very dangerous. Chris has special liquid nitrogen safety training, and you should NOT do this experiment at home.

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What happens when you hurl your homework in the air?

This week Derek is with Professor Hugh Hunt from the University of Cambridge and three student volunteers from the Norwich School. They're going to be throwing books into the air and learning about the science of spin.

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White bread and the wonder of enzymes

Use enzymes in your mouth to break down bread in front of your very taste buds.

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How to make a forcefield

This week Derek and Dave are venturing bravely into the future to make their very own forcefield. Providing the man power to do it are Matthew and Robbie from Campers Playscheme, which is held at Hunsbury Park Primary School.

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Strange Temperatures

Here is a way to entirely fool your senses using only three bowls of water. Have a go if you dare.

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Build a Lava lamp

Build a cool lava lamp using just materials from your kitchen and find out how a real one works.

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What the England football team cost a nation

How much are all those england flags costing the nation? We find out with a car, a force meter and a stick.

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The Secret Sounds of the Oven Shelf

The kitchen has always seemed an unlikely place to find a musical instrument - until now. This week Derek and Dave are with Matt and Nick at Hinchingbrooke School in search of the hidden harmonies of the oven shelf. Prepare to be amazed!

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The Secret Sounds of the Oven Shelf

The kitchen has always seemed an unlikely place to find a musical instrument - until now. This week Derek and Dave are with Matt and Nick at Hinchingbrooke School in search of the hidden harmonies of the oven shelf. Prepare to be amazed!

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How does sun cream work?

With the summer holidays approaching, Derek and Dave head off to Hinchingbrooke School to find out why wearing the white stuff is the cool thing to do.

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How to make Ugali

This week Kitchen Science travels all the way to Tanzania to find out how to make ugali, the staple food of Tanzania and other parts of East Africa.

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How to extract DNA from a kiwi fruit

You've heard about DNA, but have you ever seen any? This week Derek and Lucy extract DNA from Kiwi fruit using just simple kitchen items.

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Catching Insects with Pitfall Traps

Set a pitfall trap for some of the wild animals in your garden, using just an old plastic cup, and investigate the fascinating world of bugs.

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Freezing Objects in Liquid Nitrogen

Derek and Chris cool down various objects down to about -196°C and discover their properties have radically changed.

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Matchstick Boats and Surface Tension

Build matchstick boats that will zip across a water surface, just powered by soap.

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Making Music with Harmonics

Wendy has a look at what happens when you spin a pink tube around your head.

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Sounds from a Mug

Make some quite perplexing sounds with a common coffee mug, and a pen.

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Brownian motion in hot and cold water

Derek and Sheena visit Downham market high school to find out what effect molecular vibrations have on ink and water.

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Making music with wine glasses

Make some interesting and eerie music with wineglasses.

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How does a submarine work?

Using just a penlid, some plasticine and a lemonade bottle, to find out what principle submarines work on.

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Why is the sky blue?

Build a model atmosphere in your kitchen and use it to find out why the sky is blue.

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Mixing two fluids of different densities

Make some pretty patterns by mixing different fluids.

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Decoding a computer generated voice

Listen to strangely distorted voices and see if you can understand them.

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Hurricanes in a Lemonade Bottle

Build a minature hurricane in a lemonade bottle and find out why it happens.

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Cornflour and Gravy

Thickening liquids using the power of cornflour

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Strange Cornflour Slime

Is it a solid or is it a liquid? Make a really strange mixture and find out how it behaves.

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Cooling Glow Sticks

See what happens to a glow stick when you cool it down, and find out why this is important to snakes.

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Butter from cream

FInd out what happens to cream if you whip it, and the consequences of whipping it slightly too much.

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An Invisible Fire Extinguisher

Put out fires without using water, using an invisible fire extinguisher which won't stain the carpet.

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