Step-by-step tutorial
Step 1
Gather your materials.
Step 2
Draw a jack-o-lantern face on a transparent balloon.
Step 3
Fill the balloon with 1 tbsp baking soda.
Step 4
Use orange food coloring to dye some vinegar.
Step 5
Tie up 2 tbsp of vinegar in the corner of a plastic baggie.
Step 6
Put vinegar inside balloon.
Step 7
Tie off balloon.
Step 8
Cut a pumpkin leaf shape out of green paper.
Step 9
Push the knot of the balloon through the leaf.
Step 10
Smash the balloon with your fist, and watch the pumpkin grow!
Learn more
Real pumpkins don't grow this fast, but the way they grow is still pretty cool! A pumpkin’s life begins as a flat, teardrop-shaped seed buried in the soil. Once the seed sprouts, it quickly sends out long, crawling vines that can grow over a foot a day, sprouting broad leaves that soak up sunlight like huge solar panels! Soon, bright yellow flowers bloom along the vine, and once those flowers are pollinated, they begin to swell into a tiny green baby pumpkin. Over the summer, the vine pumps water and sugar straight into the fruit, expanding it from a golf ball into a giant green boulder until fall arrives, signaling the pumpkin to stop growing and transform into its signature fiery orange color!
