Party Activities... Fizzy Eyeballs

(Over 8yrs only)
You will need:

* 50g citric acid
* 150g bicarbonate of soda
* 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil
* Rubber round ice cube tray
* Water in a spray bottle
* Mixing bowl


What to do:

1. In a mixing bowl add the citric acid and bicarbonate of soda and mix together.

2. Add the teaspoon of oil and mix it in.

3. Spritz the mixture lightly with water and mix until it just holds together in the hands.

4. Press it into an ice cube mould.

5. Leave the eyeballs to dry in the mould for at least 30 mins.

6. Take the eyeballs out of the mould and use felt tip pens to add the pupil, iris and any blood vessels.

7. Drop an eyeball into a bowl of water and watch what happens.


Note:

1. Citric acid is an irritant and it should not be inhaled or come into contact with the eyes.

2. Children should wear protective gloves when handling the mixture if they have sensitive skin.

3. Care should be taken that the mixture does not enter the eyes – if so the eyes should be bathed with cool water. If in doubt seek medical advice.


The eye is about as big as a ping-pong ball and sits in a little hollow area (the eye socket) in the skull. The front part is protected by the eyelid. The eyelid helps keep the eye clean and moist by opening and shutting several times a minute. This is called blinking, and it's both a voluntary and involuntary action, meaning you can blink whenever you want to, but it also happens without you even thinking about it.

The white part of the eyeball is called the sclera. The sclera is made of a tough material and has the important job of covering most of the eyeball. Think of the sclera as your eyeball's outer coat. Look very closely at the white of the eye, and you'll see lines that look like tiny pink threads. These are blood vessels, the tiny tubes that deliver blood, to the sclera.

The iris is the colorful part of the eye. The iris has muscles attached to it that change its shape. This allows the iris to control how much light goes through the pupil. The pupil is the black circle in the centre of the iris, and it lets light enter the eye.

Check out http://www.kidshealth.org/ for more.

Go back