Experience the magic of Color Changing Lemonade - a galaxy in a glass! Learn how to create this fun and tasty science experiment in celebration of the upcoming solar eclipse.

The total solar eclipse of 2024 is going to be next week and our area is going to be right in the path. I'm excited to see it as everyone is talking about it's a "once in a lifetime" thing to see. I also love any reason to celebrate or create fun treats so we'll be solar eclipse partying all week. It's also a great way to talk about it with my kids and teach them about what the eclipse is in preparation so they'll understand more about it once it happens.

This Color Changing Lemonade looks like a galaxy in a glass! It is a tasty and great way to talk about the galaxy and a fun science experiment to try with your kids. The color is created by boiling red cabbage in water. You'll only want to boil it for a maximum of 2 minutes or you'll end up with cabbage tasting water and we don't want that! We just want the pretty color from it. You'll then strain the cabbage water into a container and stir in some sugar. I would make this ahead of time so that it has time to chill in the refrigerator. When ready to use simply mix the cabbage water and lemonade in a clear cup and watch the colors change like magic

How it works:

Red cabbage contains something called anthocyanin, which is a neutral acid-base indicator and is blue in neutral substances like plain water. When mixed with something acidic, like lemonade, it will turn pink. Alternatively if mixed with something basic, like baking soda, it will turn green. So cool right!? Use your Color Changing Lemonade and experiment with adding different amounts of your blue cabbage water to lemonade or with which one you add to the cup first to see how it affects the color. You could even make it a whole science experiment by adding a little cabbage water to different cups then adding substances of varying ph to see how it changes. Something else fun you can do with this drink is add edible glitter to the glass and stir quickly to make a swirling galaxy effect. Check out my video below to see the magic happen!

If you give this Color Changing Lemonade a try please leave a comment below and let me know how yours turned out. Or better yet snap a picture and tag me @simply.extra.life or #simplyextralife so I can see your fun drink!

Color Changing Lemonade

Ingredients:

• 2 cups water

• 1/4 of a red cabbage, chopped

• 1/2 cup sugar

• Pre-made lemonade

Directions:

• Bring 2 cups water to a boil on the stove. Add in red cabbage and boil for 2 minutes, no longer or your water will taste like cabbage.

• Use a mesh strainer and strain cabbage water into a container. Mix in 1/2 cup sugar until dissolved. Allow to cool and refrigerate until ready to use.

• Add cabbage water to a clear glass then top off with lemonade.

• Experiment with adding different amounts of cabbage water and lemonade to see how it affects the color.