The Science of It: Elephant Toothpaste

Meteorologist Marquise Meda is making “elephant toothpaste” at the Orlando Science Center.

WHETHER THOSE RESOLUTIONS FOR THE NEW YEAR ARE HANGING ON OR NOT, JANUARY IS CERTAINLY A TIME WHERE SO MANY OF US FOCUS ON SELF-CARE. METEOROLOGIST MARQUISE MEDA IS AT THE ORLANDO SCIENCE CENTER, WHERE FUN THINGS ARE BREWING UP THIS MONTH. HEY GUYS, WHAT’S GOING ON? AND WELCOME BACK TO THE ORLANDO SCIENCE CENTER. I’M METEOROLOGIST MARQUISE MEDA, JOINED BY SPENCER, WHO HAS ON HIS MAD LABORATORY COAT TODAY. EXACTLY. I FEEL LIKE WE’RE GETTING INTO SOMETHING FUN, EXPERIMENTAL. ALSO A LITTLE BIT DANGEROUS. YEAH, POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS IF DOING IT WRONG. RIGHT. BUT THAT’S ALL WE GOT HERE AT THE SCIENCE CENTER. ALWAYS SOMETHING REALLY FUN AND FLASHY AND EXCITING. WE’RE CELEBRATING SELF-CARE WEAR MONTH WITH JANUARY. AND SO, YOU KNOW WHAT’S A BETTER WAY TO DO IT THAN KIND OF LIKE A FUN ASMR VIBE? ELEPHANT TOOTHPASTE EXPERIMENT. YOU KNOW, IT’S A CLASSIC. IT’S A FUN WAY TO PRACTICE DENTAL HYGIENE, RIGHT? YEAH. YEAH, DEFINITELY. THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT WE’RE PREACHING HERE. BUT MAYBE NOT WITH THIS ONE, THOUGH. SO ANYWAY, WE ARE GOING TO BE COMBINING SOME AWESOME INGREDIENTS HERE, SOME REAL SCIENCE, SOME REAL CHEMISTRY. WE’RE GOING TO GET A REALLY AWESOME REACTION. IT’S GOING TO BE VISUALLY VERY COOL. IT’S GOING TO TASTE REAL BAD. I DON’T RECOMMEND YOU TASTE IT. I ALSO RECOMMEND YOU DON’T TOUCH IT BECAUSE IT’S EXOTHERMIC MEANS YOU GET LOTS OF HEAT. AND SO YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE LIKE A VERY HOT, STEAMY CONCOCTION AFTER. SO THAT’S WHY YOU HAVE THE GLOVES ON, RIGHT? EXACTLY. YEAH. WE’RE GONNA HAVE SOME SAFETY GOGGLES, LAB COATS AND STUFF LIKE THAT. SO WHAT ARE WE GOING TO COMBINE HERE? WELL, WE’VE GOT HYDROGEN PEROXIDE RIGHT HERE. IT’S GOT SOME OXYGEN INSIDE. AND SO NORMALLY RIGHT NOW IF WE JUST LET THIS COOK, IT WOULD TURN INTO GAS VERY SLOWLY. IT’S EMITTING OXYGEN. YEAH. EXACTLY. JUST TINY LITTLE BUBBLES. THE OXYGEN IS LEAVING. IT’S INVISIBLE. WE CAN’T SEE IT. IT WOULD HAPPEN OVER THE WHOLE DAY, BUT THAT’D BE REALLY BORING. AND SO WHAT WE DO IN CHEMISTRY IS WE SPEED THINGS UP WITH THE CATALYST. AND THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT THIS IS. IT’S GOING TO BE OUR CATALYST THAT’S GOING TO SPEED THIS REACTION UP. IT’S GOING TO TEAR THOSE OXYGEN MOLECULES APART, AND IT’S GOING TO SHOOT THAT OXYGEN STRAIGHT IN THE AIR. BUT TO MAKE IT ELEPHANT TOOTHPASTE, WE’VE GOT TO CAPTURE IT. SO THAT’S WHERE THE SOAP COMES IN. AND OUR FOOD COLORING WHICH COLOR SHOULD WE DO. WE’VE GOT BLUE AND GREEN. I LIKE GREEN. GREEN. GREEN IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE COLORS. IS STILL. YEAH, RIGHT. JUST A BUNCH. HONESTLY A BUNCH. YEAH. JUST LIKE. I MEAN, IT’S FOOD COLORING. WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO? THAT’S GOOD, THAT’S GOOD. PERFECT. AND WE CAN SEE SOME OF THAT FOOD COLORING STIRRING ON IN THERE. AND THEN ADD A SQUIRT OF THE SOAP AS WELL. JUST A GOOD SQUIRT, A GOOD BUNCH, A NICE SCIENTIFIC SQUIRT. YEAH. A GOOD SCIENTIFIC UNIT OF MEASURE, RIGHT? YEAH, EXACTLY. PERFECT. WE DO HAVE 200ML OF HYDROGEN PEROXIDE IN HERE, BUT FOR THE REST OF IT WE’RE JUST KIND OF SQUIRTING. WE’RE GOING TO MIX IT ALL UP IN THERE. THAT IS GOING TO ALLOW US TO CAPTURE ALL OF THE BUBBLES THAT COME OUT OF THERE. AND WE’LL CREATE BUBBLES, BASICALLY CAPTURE ALL THE GAS TO CREATE BUBBLES. AND SO HOPEFULLY THAT’LL GIVE US OUR ACTUAL ELEPHANT TOOTHPASTE REACTION. OKAY. ARE YOU READY FOR THIS? YEAH FOR SURE. ME TOO. LET’S GET OUR GOGGLES ON. DON THE SAFETY AND LET’S GET IT GOING. GOGGLES UP AND READY TO GO. ALL RIGHT. I THINK WE’RE PRETTY GOOD. I THINK I’M GONNA LET YOU DO THE HONORS HERE. SO WHAT WE’RE GOING TO DO IS YOU’RE GOING TO GRAB THAT, POUR IT RIGHT ON IN, AND WE’LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS. ALL RIGHT. DO I POUR IT QUICKLY? POUR IT SLOWLY. A NICE SOLID POUR LIKE A QUICK SOLID. POUR. PERFECT. AND OH, LOOK AT THAT HORRIBLE GREEN COLOR. OH, THERE WE GO. IS A BETTER GREEN. AND I THINK WE HAVE JUST THE RIGHT SIZE HERE. WE’VE CONTAINED IT MOSTLY ON OUR BACK END. WE DEFINITELY DIDN’T CONTAIN THE FRONT. SO SPILL IT OVER THE TOP. RIGHT. YEAH. YOU KNOW BUT THAT’S SCIENCE FOR US. AND YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE STEAM COMING OFF THE TOP RIGHT HERE, WHICH IS REALLY EXCITING. IT IS AN EXOTHERMIC REACTION, MEANING IT’S GIVING OFF HEAT, WHICH IS AWESOME. AND SO YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THAT STEAM. IT’S ALSO GOING TO BE TOO HOT TO TOUCH RIGHT NOW. SOME OF THE EXTRA BUBBLES. VERY EXCITING STUFF. I WILL SAY THE COLOR STARTED OFF LOOKING PRETTY, PRETTY GNARLY. IT GOT BETTER AS IT WENT ALONG, BUT WE DEFINITELY GOT TO A NICE GREEN COLOR TO DEMONSTRATE. YOU KNOW, THE SUPERIOR COLOR. WELL, I LOVE THIS. OBVIOUSLY THIS IS ONE OF THOSE EXPERIMENTS THAT LOOK GREAT ON CAMERA, BUT YOU CAN’T DO IT AT HOME. I DON’T RECOMMEND WHEN AND WHERE CAN FOLKS DO IT? RIGHT HERE AT THE SCIENCE CENTER. OF COURSE, WE’VE GOT OURSELVES A DOCTOR DAVE’S LAB. WE DO POP UP DEMONSTRATIONS IN THERE, AND SOMETIMES YOU’RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO CATCH STUFF LIKE ELEPHANT TOOTHPASTE. YOU KNOW, YOU CAN’T DO STUFF LIKE THIS AT HOME. BUT THERE ARE SIMILAR THINGS LIKE OOBLECK AND THINGS TO GET KIND OF MESSY AT HOME WITH YOUR CHEMISTRY. SO LOOK UP, YOU KNOW, OSCORP, CHECK OUT DIFFERENT EXPERIMENTS YOU CAN DO AT HOME, AND WE’LL SEE YOU HERE. AWESOME. WELL, WE HOPE TO SEE YOU GUYS HERE AT THE ORLANDO SCIENCE CENTER THROUGHOUT THE MONTH OF JANUARY. MAKE SURE YOU CHECK THE SCHEDULE AT OSCAR NOYA DOT ORG. BACK TO YOU GUYS. IF YOU’D LIKE TO SEE WHAT OTHER COOL STUFF IS HAPPENING AT THE ORLANDO SCIENCE CENTER. IT’S OPEN EVERY DAY FROM 10 T

The Science of It: Elephant Toothpaste

Meteorologist Marquise Meda is making “elephant toothpaste” at the Orlando Science Center.