Tea Bag Ghost Experiment
Imagine you're sitting in the kitchen at night. It's quiet. Only the clock is ticking. Suddenly, a little ghost flits through the air – whoosh! – and then it's just gone. No joke, you can really try this yourself. First, you'll create your own little ghost, and then you'll watch as it seemingly comes to life and suddenly disappears into thin air. When you light the tea bag, it burns very slowly. This creates hot air. Hot air always rises because it's lighter than cold air. This rising air carries your tea bag ghost up. Just before it vanishes, it looks like it's floating. It almost seems like a magic trick, but it's physics.
What you'll need
- 1 tea bag (preferably one with a string)
- Scissors
- Black felt-tip pen
- Matches or lighter
- Ovenproof dish or fireproof bowl
How it works
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Carefully open a tea bag. Pour out the tea. Then unfold the bag. It now looks like a small, thin tube. Tip: Make sure the tea bag stays intact and doesn't tear. Take a felt-tip pen and draw two eyes and a mouth on your ghost.
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Now place the tea bag tube in an ovenproof dish. This isn't easy, as the bag tends to fall over quickly. Now comes the exciting part. Ask an adult to light the ghost at the top edge with a lighter or match.
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Fire is always dangerous if not handled properly. Therefore, you must never light the tea bag by yourself. Always ask an adult to help and supervise you.
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Watch closely as the fire slowly eats its way down. When the fire is almost at the bottom, the surprise happens. Your ghost takes off! It rises into the air, floats for a moment, and then disappears. Poof – it's gone.
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Doesn't it look like your ghost is flying back to its ghost world?
What kids learn from this
- Curiosity & scientific thinking
