Fizzy Witches Potion Halloween Sensory Bin

Last updated on October 24th, 2023

Ready for a spooky Halloween science experiment? This fizzy witches potion sensory bin is the perfect activity for learning through play (aka the BEST way to learn!)

Mini Cauldron Science Experiment

Are you ready for a super spooky Halloween sensory bin?! This witches brew is our favorite.

Your child will be amazed watching science happen right before their eyes as the vinegar mixes with the baking soda and food coloring. Think of it like a science experiment inside a mini cauldron!

What You’ll Need

• baking soda + small spoon for scooping
• food coloring
  • orange, green, purple, etc.
• dish soap (any color or colorless is fine)
• vinegar
• mini pumpkins and mini cauldrons
• squirt bottles (those peri bottles you got at the hospital work great too)
• spooky Halloween stuff
• droppers
• tweezers
• big rectangular shallow bin
• Kraft paper + tape OR drop cloth / tarp / old towel
• art smock
• child sized safety goggles

How to Set Up

First, gather all of your supplies. Then, fill each cauldron and pumpkin with a couple of scoops of baking soda. I filled ours maybe 1/4-1/3 of the way full or so – it doesn’t have to be exact or perfect!

Add a couple of drops of food coloring to each pumpkin and cauldron – just eyeball it – maybe ~5 drops? I chose orange, green, and than mixed blue and red to make a purple color.

Next, add a small squirt of dish soap to each pumpkin and cauldron. Not much – just enough to add a little extra foam for playing.

After that, fill up your squirt bottles with vinegar. We usually go through about 3 squirt bottles by the time we finish up the activity; it just depends on the day.

I think it’s easier to have a few pre-loaded vinegar bottles ready to go and just swap out when they empty, instead of constantly refilling the same one.

Next, set up your sensory bin. Place all of your pumpkins and cauldrons inside and than throw in some spooky Halloween goodies to seek and find.

Set up your kid’s work station by laying out some Kraft paper, an old drop cloth, a tarp, or old towel down on your table or floor. Place an art smock on your child. Safety goggles are best for any splashing potion!

Ways to Play

Give your child the droppers, tweezers, and squirt bottles and first demonstrate how to play.

Show them how the tools work and let them practice using them with your help, if needed, until they gain the confidence needed to play.

Adding vinegar to the pumpkins and cauldrons will make them ooze fizzy colorful foam. You can talk about why this happens and identify colors you notice. Encourage them to use their fine motor skills by picking up the Halloween creatures that get hidden by foam.

They can also use the tweezers to pick up the plastic spiders and bugs to drop into the potion. The droppers can be used to suction out potion from one cauldron and drop it into another.

Let them lead! They’ll likely create their own fun with this sensory bin.

With using enough baking soda to fill each cauldron and pumpkin about 1/4-1/3 of the way – I found that we could squirt vinegar in over and over to create the fizzing witches brew which helped the activity last longer.

Wrap It Up

There are so many opportunities to learn through play with this awesome Halloween activity. It’s one that has become a Halloween time staple in our house.

How did your fizzy witches brew turn out? Let me know by leaving a comment below!