🚍 Yellow School Bus - Easy Back to School Science Experiment

Look for simple, but outrageously FUN welcome back to school activities? Try this school bus back to school science activities to impress kids and dive right into learning about the chemical reaction between baking soda and vinegar! This first day of school activity allows preschool, pre-k, kindergarten, and first graders to melt the school bus with an easy chemistry experiment for kids. This cute project is perfect for the first week of school activities.

Back to school science experiment

Ready for a BACK TO SCHOOL adventure that’s full of SCIENCE and FUN? Check out this awesome school bus-themed activity that will WOW your little ones!

Transform your classroom into a mini-lab as you dive into the exciting chemical reaction between baking soda and vinegar! Perfect for preschool, Pre-K, kindergarten, and 1st graders, this easy chemistry experiment lets kids watch their very own school bus “melt” away in a fizzy explosion of learning! Kick off the school year with creativity and exploration. Trust us, this cute project will be a hit during the first week of school!

Find more fun back to school activities and kindergarten science experiments. Grab our free apple browning experiment worksheet and hands-on volcano apple science experiment.

School bus activities for preschoolers

Start out by grabbing a few simple materials you probably already have in your kitchen:

1 cup baking soda
1 Tablespoon water
1 Tablespoon yellow food coloring for bold color
3 squirts of liquid dish soap
~ 1 cup distilled white Vinegar
sharpie
box for shape
Squeeze bottles

The yellow bus activities

In a bowl mix the bicorbonate soda, water, dish soap, and food coloring. Mix to distribute food coloring. Depending on the size of your school bus you can double the recipe if you like.

Back to school science activities

Now it’s time to mold the baking soda mixture into a school bus shape. You can use your hand, a plastic mold you happen to have, or reuse a cardboard box you have on hand like we did. Get the correct rectangular shape with a lower front.

First day of school science experiments

Use a sharpie to add the finishing touches to make your big yellow school bus come to life. We added windows and wheels.

Bus activities for preschoolers

Now quirt some of the vinegar on your school bus, just a little to start with. Ask he kids what they observe. You may hear things like it starts to foam, makes bubbles, looks like the bus is dripping, etc. Expain that what they are seeing is a chemical reaction between the baking soda the bus is made of and the vinegar you are adding.

School bus activities

Continue adding vinegar to watch the chemical reaction and to melt yoru school bus! This is also a fun extension for a Magic School Bus activity too!

Back to school science activities for preschoolers

The bubbles are aided by the addition of the dish soap to the mixture at the beginning.

Magic school bus science experiments

As your school bus dissapears more and more, it’s time to explain a little more of the science behind this simple back to school science experiment! When baking soda is mixed with vinegar, something new is formed. The mixture quickly foams up as it reacts to form the gas carbon dioxide. If enough vinegar is used, all of the baking soda will react and disappear. This reaction is also a fun way to start introducing children to the states of matter – solid, liquid, and gas (see this simple balloon states of matter for kids demonstration)

Back to school science experiments

Outrageously FUN back to school activity! Try school bus, first day science experiment with baking soda and vinegar. EASY first week of school activities!