Fireworks in a Glass

I saw the neatest idea for the Fourth of July that I just had to show you. It's fun for the whole family. I found it in an older issue of Family Fun Magazine (July/August 2007). It's a mini fireworks display.

Take a look...

See those tiny colorful streamers coming down the glass? Pretty neat, huh?

Here's how to do it:

1. Fill a tall, clear drinking glass with room-temperature water, leaving about an inch of space at the top.

2. Pour 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil into a short glass and add 1 to 2 drops each of red and blue food coloring. Gently stir the mixture once or twice with a fork to just barely break up the drops. (Don't over mix! You want a collection of both small and large beads.)

3. Slowly pour the mixture into the water, then sit back and watch. Within about 30 seconds, the beads will begin to burst through the oil, releasing tiny red and blue streamers and miniature fireworks. Feel free to ooh and aah.

I only had the gel-type food coloring for the red color, and that didn't work the first time I tried this. So, I went ahead and used three colors of the liquid kind: blue, green and yellow. Isn't the top view of the glass so neat looking? The beads are about ready to burst!

Here's a huge explosion! What an awesome way to celebrate the holiday indoors. I also thought it would be neat to use this for other celebrations--birthdays, sport team victories and other successes in life. 

Have a happy and safe Fourth of July!