Magic Potion Fizzy Powder
Magic potions are one of my boys' favourite nature play activities! There is just something so special about mixing all the ingredients, smelling the scent of the beautiful florals, adding sparkly glitter and then seeing it all fizz up when you add water!
The cornflour in this recipe is optional, but it does help to prolong the fizz (= fun), so definitely go ahead and add some in if you have it available. Also feel free to add essential oils if you and your kids like them, e.g. a calming lavender essential oil in a blue potion with lavender and rose petals or add invigorating lemon/grapefruit essential oil to a pink potion with calendula and cornflower petals.
Recipe:
1/2 Cup Bicarbonate Soda
1/4 Cup Natural Citric Acid (You can find it in Health Food Stores)
1/4 Cup Cornflour
Pinch of Botanical Colour Powder (Instead of Using Food Dyes)
Biodegradable Glitter
Dried Flower Petals
Crystal Chips
Water
Essential oils (optional)
Mix the bicarb soda, citric acid, cornflour and colour powder until combined. Stir through dried flower petals, glitter, essential oils and crystal chips to your liking. Slowly add water and invite the kids to experience it with all their senses.
Note: Although citric acid is a natural and non-toxic ingredient, please remind children not to consume any parts of the powder or the potions. If your child has open wounds on their hands or eczema, the citric acid may sting their skin, so please only invite this play if their skin is healthy. This play is suitable for children 3+.
Jess —
Hi, I’ve made up a batch with the corn flour added but it seems to fizz rather than bubble up. Any tips to get more of a bubbly potion?
Thanks
Jess
Sophie —
Hi Coco,
They are the same! In Australia we call it cornflour, but I think in other countries it is corn starch?!
Coco —
Cornflour or Corn starch?
Sophie —
Hi Jess & Jenn,
Yes any excess powder will become solid if it is exposed to air and moisture. I recommend only storing the base powder (ie cornflour, bicarb, citric acid mix) and choosing an airtight container. If the mix does go hard you can actually still use it. Give it a shake in the container to loosen it up and use as fizzers in your potion play. Hope this helps :)
Jenn —
Yes, this is the recipe I’ve always used. Although I’ve never had issues storing extra powder, suddenly it’s been solidifying. I assumed ingredients must’ve come into contact with moisture, but they hadn’t. Does anyone else have issue saving their powder?
Jess —
hi! thanks for this fun recipe. i tried storing this in a kraft bag with a clear front and it turned rock hard! almost like a bath bomb or something :( any tips on why it went hard in the bag? thanks!
Sophie —
Hi Mandana, thanks for your comment! You can also use arrowroot powder or rice flour instead of the cornflour (same quantities) or you can omit it altogether and the quantities of the bicarb and citric acid remain the same. Our nature craft kit comes with two botanical colour powders (red and blue), both non-toxic and derived from plants :)
Hope this helps, Sophie
Mandana —
Hello!
Thank you for making the magic potion fizzy powder post. Do you happen to know if there is an ingredient besides cornflour that I can use to prolong the fizz to the potion? Also, if I don’t use the cornflour, do the measurements to the baking soda and citric acid change? Lastly, where is a good place to purchase non toxic botanical color powder?
I love your wooden spoons! I may purchase some for my student!
Thanks so much!
Mandana
Sophie —
Hi Kate!
Thanks! It’s so worth a try!
I usually prefer to put the ingredients together fresh each time, but you could probably mix together the bicarb and the citric acid and keep that in a container, adding any colours, essential oils, glitter and flower petals when you are ready to do the activity. You’d just want to keep any moisture away from the citric acid, so it doesn’t harden in the container. Enjoy!
Kate —
Hi, I’m keen to try this out – looks really cool! How long do you think the sensory fizz powder would last in a container?
Thanks
Kate