How to Make “Elephant Toothpaste”

Making “elephant toothpaste” is an easy and fun science experiment that you can do at home with your kids or with students in the lab. This is the result of a chemical reaction that forms a huge amount of foam. The movement of the foam mass looks like toothpaste spewing out of a tube, and the volume of foam is enough for an elephant to brush his teeth.

Note that concentrated hydrogen peroxide (3% higher concentration than household hydrogen peroxide) is a strong oxidizing agent. It can bleach the skin and cause burns. Do not attempt without proper safety precautions and adult presence.

Have fun with the experiment, but remember to be safe!

Table of Contents

Ingredient

Home made version

1/2 cup 20-volume hydrogen peroxide solution (20 volume is a 6% solution, which you can find at beauty stores or hair salons)
1 tablespoon dry yeast
3 tablespoons warm water
Dishwashing liquid
Food coloring
Many bottles in all shapes

Version made in the lab

Food coloring (optional)
Washing liquid
Hydrogen peroxide 30% (H202)
Saturated potassium iodide (KI) solution
Measuring tube 1 liter

Experiment preparation

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Find materials available in the house. You don’t need to buy specialized lab equipment to do this fun experiment, as most materials can be found at home. Make a list of what you have available and see if you can improvise if something is missing. For example, if 6% hydrogen peroxide is not available, you can use 3%.

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Allocate enough time to prepare the experiment, perform the experiment, and clean up. Remember that this experiment will be quite messy, so ask everyone to stay and clean up. You need enough time for everyone to participate and enjoy the experiment.

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Prepare an area where water can be splashed. Foam experiments can be fun for all ages, but kids can get so excited they lose control. Whether you’re planning to experiment in the tub, out in the yard, using a large baking tray, or a plastic container, you should ease the cleaning work by preparing an enclosed space.

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Find enough hydrogen peroxide. The amount of hydrogen peroxide will determine the volume of foam produced. Even if you have 3% hydrogen peroxide in your medicine cabinet, you can also go to a beauty store to buy 6%, because this type of hydrogen peroxide is not usually available in pharmacies. Beauty stores sell 6% hydrogen peroxide as a bleaching agent. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Perform experiments

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Mix 3 tablespoons of water with yeast and leave. You can let your children do this step. Have your child measure out the yeast and mix in the right amount of warm water, then stir in the lumps. ^{[2] X Research Source}

Depending on your child’s age, you can give them a spoon and stirrer. You can also have your child wear goggles and a lab coat. Children’s goggles are available at hardware stores.

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Pour dishwashing liquid, food coloring, and half a cup of hydrogen peroxide into the bottle. Make sure everyone wears safety glasses and gloves before using hydrogen peroxide. Do not let children hold hydrogen peroxide unless you think they are old enough. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

If your children are too young, you should have them pour dishwashing liquid and food coloring into the bottle. You can also add glitter for more fun. Remember to use plastic glitter, not metal-based glitter, as hydrogen peroxide should not be used with metals. ^{[4] X Research Sources}
You can stir the mixture yourself or let your child do it if he or she is old enough. Make sure not to let hydrogen peroxide spill out.

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Use a funnel to pour the yeast mixture into the bottle. Quickly step back and remove the funnel. You can allow your kids to pour the glaze, but if they’re too young, make sure they’re far enough away that the bottle won’t spill over. Use low, wide-bottomed bottles for stability, and narrow-necked bottles to increase the efficiency of the experiment. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

The fungus present in the yeast will immediately dissociate the hydrogen peroxide and release a large amount of oxygen molecules. The oxygen molecules released are gaseous, and when they encounter soap, they form foamy bubbles, while the rest remains in the form of water. The gas will find its way out and the “toothpaste” foam will spray out of the bottle. ^{[6] X Research Source}
Remember to mix the hydrogen peroxide and yeast thoroughly for maximum effect.

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Change the size and shape of the bottle. If you choose a small bottle with a narrow neck, the foam will spray more strongly. You can try using bottles of different sizes and shapes for more interesting effects. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

With a regular soda water bottle and 3% hydrogen peroxide, you get a cascade effect like a chocolate waterfall.

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Feel the heat. Observe how the foam gives off heat. This is an exothermic reaction, so this experiment will generate heat. The heat isn’t enough to cause harm, so you can totally touch the foam and play. This foam is composed of only water, soap and oxygen, so it is not toxic.

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Clean up. You can use a sponge to clean the test area and pour the excess liquid down the drain. If you’re using tinsel, comb the slush out of the liquid to throw it in the trash and pour the rest down the drain. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

Made in the lab

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Wear gloves and safety glasses. The concentrated hydrogen peroxide used in the experiment burns the skin and eyes. It can also bleach fabrics, so you should choose clothes that you don’t mind damage. ^{[9] X Research Source}

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Pour 50 ml of 30% hydrogen peroxide into a 1 liter cylinder. ^{[10] X Research Source} This hydrogen peroxide is stronger than household hydrogen peroxide. Be careful when handling hydrogen peroxide and remember to keep the cylinder in a stable position.

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Add 3 drops of food coloring. ^{[11] X Research Source} Experiment with food coloring for interesting effects. Create fun patterns and rich colors. To add stripes to the final product, tilt the cylinder and drip the color along the side of the tube.

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Add 40 ml of dishwashing liquid and shake until dissolved. Add a thin layer of dishwashing liquid by pouring the solution along the wall of the tube. ^{[12] X Research Source} You can also use powdered dishwashing liquid, but be sure to dissolve it evenly in the solution.

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Add potassium iodide to the solution and step back quickly! Use a spatula to add potassium iodide to create a chemical reaction. You can also dissolve potassium iodide with water in a test tube before pouring it into the solution. Large volume of colored foam will rise and spill out of the tube.

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Check for the presence of oxygen. Bring a red-tinted firefly close to the foam and watch for it to ignite as oxygen is released from the rising foam. ^{[13] X Research Source}

Advice

You may notice that the reaction is exothermic. This phenomenon is the result of an exothermic reaction, that is, the generation of energy.
Use gloves when cleaning “elephant toothpaste”. You can put both the foam and the solution down the drain.
Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) will naturally dissociate into water and oxygen over time, but you can speed this process up by adding a catalyst. Hydrogen peroxide releases a lot of oxygen at once when it encounters soap, so millions of tiny bubbles quickly form.

Warning

Elephant toothpaste can cause stains!
The formulation is called elephant toothpaste just because of its appearance. Do not put it in your mouth or swallow.
The foam will overflow suddenly and very quickly, especially in the lab-made version. Be sure to perform this test on a stain-resistant and washable surface, and not stand near the bottle or measuring cylinder while it is bubbling.
This experiment will not be safe if you do not use goggles and gloves.

Things you need

Goggles
Single use gloves
Clean plastic soda water bottle 480 ml
Small cup
Tall cylinder (at least 500 ml)
Test tube
Food coloring (optional)
Soap water or powder
Hydrogen peroxide 30% (H202)
Saturated potassium iodide (KI) solution