ROCKINGHAM — Discovery Place Kids ended its seventh birthday party on Sunday with a bang.
Melissa Staub demonstrated how chemical reactions can cause explosions during the final science show of the day at the downtown children’s museum.
Staub, a fifth-grade teacher at Washington Street School, mixed a half-tablet of Alka-Seltzer with water in a small cylindrical tube, put the cap on, shook it up, placed it upside down, and stood back.
The kids who had gathered around the table, but were standing back at a safe distance, counted down from 10 — but had to wait a few more seconds before the pressure buildup turned the small plastic bottle into a projectile as it blasted to the ceiling of the demonstration area with an audible pop, followed by shrieks of surprise and excitement.
Then the kids got their turn to create the makeshift bottle rockets.
DPK offered free admission starting at noon, with children trying out the myriad interactive displays on both floors of the museum.
A special celebration was held from 10 a.m.-noon for museum members who were encouraged to fill out a Bingo card with a list of activities.
See the bottom of this post for video highlights.
