Messy Time

With the end of the summer holidays drawing near, keep little ones entertained with some fantastic messy play, using everyday ingredients. My son is really into Harry Potter so I told him we were making 'potions'.

Get into the groove and make a diy lava lamp with normal household materials. The supplies needed include:

• An empty plastic bottle
• Water
• Cooking oil
• Salt
• Food colouring

To start, fill your empty bottle 3/4 full with oil and top up with water, leaving a bit of space at the top. As water is denser than oil it should sink to the bottom. Then add a few drops of food colouring. Whist this settles, pour in a generous amount of salt and watch the amazing reaction. Once it's stopped, tip the bottle upside down and watch it start all over again. Why not recreate a Disco by turning out the lights and shining a torch onto your homemade lava lamp. Groovy man!

Fun for adults and kids alike, this oozing gooey slime will keep you entertained for hours. All you need is:

• A plastic cup, or mixing bowl
• Cornflour
• Water
• Food colouring (we used green, but any colour would work)

Simply mix 1 cup of corn flour with 1/2 a cup of water and a few drops of food colouring. The result will be an squidgy, gooey, stretchy slime that also solidifies in your hand.

Making a volcano is a fun experiment because your child can make an actual volcano, to surround and hide the water bottle, using earth, clay or papier mache. This experiment is quite messy, so either do it outside or remember to lay a waterproof covering over your kitchen table! Ingredients needed are:

• An empty water bottle
• Materials for volcano surround
• Red food colouring (to imply lava)
• Detergent (optional but produces a better lava)
• Water
• Vinegar
• Baking Powder

Sculpt your volcano around an empty water bottle. Then (using a funnel) fill the bottle most of the way up with warm water and add a few drops of red food colouring. Squeeze about 5 drops of detergent into your liquid mix and add 2 tablespoons of baking powder. When you're ready for the eruption, slowly pour the vinegar into the mix and watch the fun!