If you know kids who love Star Wars activities, they are going to love this “Rescue Han Solo” Star Wars science experiment!
It’s a simple LEGO science idea that involves chemical reactions, cause and effect, and more. It’s perfect for curious young children ready to ask questions, experiment, and find answers to their questions.
And kids don’t need to have seen the movies to enjoy this science activity. In fact, they can use any small toys they like in place of Han Solo. They’ll still explore the scientific method and engage in some sensory play along the way.
My son has been very interested in Star Wars for years, ever since his aunt and uncle took him to the Jedi Academy. He’s always been into LEGO, so imagine his reaction when he discovered LEGO Star Wars! I created this LEGO science experiment for his 7th birthday party. He and his buds absolutely loved it, and we’ve recreated it many (many!) times over the years.
Star Wars Science Experiment
Engineer’s friends requested an “activity” for his birthday party, as they love the random experiments we do. As I was striving to come up with something, I remembered Han Solo being encased in carbonite. That, coupled with how much I loved our exploding treasure chests pirate experiment, inspired this science activity.
Rescue Han Solo Science Materials
Here’s what we used for our Star Wars science experiment (I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post):
- Ice cube tray
- Baking soda
- Vinegar
- Water
- Lego Star Wars minifigures
- Angry Birds Star Wars figures
Related: Benefits of Messy Play
How to Rescue Han Solo with Science
- Mix 3 parts baking soda with 1 part water. If desired, add Jello powder to scent and color the mixture.*
- Pour a small amount of the mixture into the bottom of the ice cube tray.
- Place one Star Wars toy into each section.
- Cover each toy up with more of the baking soda and water mixture.
- Place the ice cube tray into the freezer for a few hours.
- Remove the “carbonite”-encased figures and place in containers.
- Add vinegar to save Han Solo and his Star Wars buddies.
*Engineer and I made one tray using the basic mixture and one tray with blue Jello added to it.
What Happened with Our Star Wars Science Experiment
Despite the fact that we’ve done a variety of baking soda and vinegar experiments in the past, they never seem to get old! To begin with, I placed one figurine in small glass dishes for each of the boys. They happily spooned vinegar to rescue the Star Wars characters. Once they’d saved all of the Lego figures from the basic white “carbonite”, they moved onto the Jello mixture.
As they rescued more Star Wars characters, they became even more excited about the experiment. This meant we had to move everything into a much larger tub. I probably should have done that to begin with! 🙂 The boys used the vinegar bottles to pour vinegar over the remaining cubes. Once all of them were melted, they began having fun with the vinegar and baking soda.
Related: Simple LEGO Sensory Bottle Kids Can Make
There were mini “explosions” from the vinegar bottles as they added more baking soda. They dissolved into giggles when they realized shaking the bottles created funny fizzes. Needless to say, I needed a couple of towels at this point! The Lego Star Wars figures had fun in the “blue swamp” as they battled each other amid volcanic eruptions.
I loved hearing the stories the kiddos created as they played. They definitely had a blast with this Lego science activity, and we only stopped because we ran out of vinegar! Engineer has already asked to try this again, and I’m sure it will be fun to do in the summer heat.
Ideas for Next Time
I will definitely be trying this science experiment outside next time. The kids got so into it that there was a small disaster in my kitchen! Since it was raining, though, there really wasn’t a better place for us to play. Plus, a couple of towels cleaned everything up pretty easily.
I’ll also start everything out in a larger tub. We used with small dishes at first, so each child could have his own space. I should have known they’d end up combining everything anyway!
I plan on freezing a lot more figures next time, too. Or at least make more frozen baking soda cubes. It’s such fun for the kids, and I love encouraging their interest in science!
Do you have any Lego Star Wars fans at home? Have you tried any Lego science experiments recently? If so, I would love to hear about them in the comments below. I’m sure Engineer would be interested in trying them out in the next month or two.
More LEGO Fun
- Play Trains’ Design Your Own LEGO Wooden Train
- Frugal Fun for Boys’ Build a Lego Pinball Game
- And Next Comes L’s LEGO Minifigures I Spy Game
More Star Wars Ideas
- I Heart Arts ‘n Crafts’ Handprint Yoda Card
- Toddler Approved’s Star Wars Yoda Shape Craft
Originally published on May 15, 2014
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ah this is such a fun idea! My Lego mad and Star Wars mad kids will love this!!!
Thank you so much, Kate!! 🙂 Let me know if you get the chance to try it out.
How fun!
Thank you, Angela! It really was a blast for all of us!
This is really neat. We are going to have to give it a try soon. We are also LEGO and Star Wars fans :). Thanks for the great idea. ~Sheila
Thank you, Sheila! Let me know how it goes if you get the chance to try it out. 🙂
Thanks for the idea. I also have a Star Wars Lego fan!
Just curious does the vinegar (chemical reaction) affect the Lego in any way? The painted faces or Lego colours or even the Lego plastic quality?
Oh!! Good question! I’d like to know this too!
I just gave poor Lisette my long-winded answer! I hope it helps you out too. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by! 🙂 We tried this out last weekend with a variety of the Lego Star Wars characters. They played with it for about an hour, with some of the minifigs staying in the containers (with the vinegar and baking soda) and some outside it. When we were done, I rinsed the figures with water and left them to dry on a paper towel. None of the decorations (faces, clothes, etc.) changed or come off, and I didn’t see anything happen with the quality of the plastic. I just ran off to double-check that now, to be sure! That was our experience.
Have to buy the ice trays! My 2 boys will love this thanks so much!!!
Yay, I’m so glad to hear that Lisa! We have tons of ice trays around here . . . and they rarely seem to get used for ice! 🙂
I cannot imagine the vinegar having any effect on the plastic as vinegar is sold in large plastic bottles to begin with. It is an acid but a minimal acid.
One great benefit is that they will be clean and sanitized when done as well. 🙂
Thanks, Anissa! 🙂 Great way to look at it!
We did the carbonite freeze and free today at our Jedi Scouts meeting. We used action figures and froze them in disposable plastic containers. The kids thought it was cool. Then we used some vinegar and baking soda in a plastic rocket to show them how collecting the bubbles of CO2 could fire off a rocket
Glen, that is awesome! I love the extension idea of firing a rocket. My son would adore trying that!
Hi Mary Catherine. I found your photo and blog post pinned to a science Pinterest board recently. I love this idea! I just finished writing about some of my favorite pins from this week and I gave you a quick shout out. Have a great rest of your week!
Thanks so much, Kelly – for both the kind words and the awesome shout out! 🙂
I didn’t have flavored gelatin so I tried adding a grape Kool-Aid packet instead…worked out great!
We’ve also made light sabers by using the long, thin ice cube trays intended for water bottles. With vinegar in an empty condiment bottle the light sabers explode :).
Thank you so much for this activity idea! we did this today on a 40 degree day in Australia, just perfect and so much fun melting the ice. We didn’t have star wars Lego but we sure did have fun mixing and matching all the heads, bodies and legs of all the Lego people we do have. My little boy even froze an accessory in with each figurine (pick axe, scarecrow hat etc). Thanks again 🙂
LOVE this idea! I can imagine though my son wrinkling his nose up at the smell of vinegar! Did you encounter any challenges with the smell? Vinegar over here (the Philippines) has a pretty strong smell!
Thank you for the great idea. I host a weekly “Kindergarten Science Friday” and one of the students LOVES Star Wars. So, we’re doing “Star Wars Science” this week.
Love that! Thanks 🙂
We’re celebrating May the 4th today with our kids and thought we’d try your experiment. It looks awesome! I’ve also added your link to my blog to share with others. Thank you for the great idea. I’m sure the kids will love it. https://gatherlovegrow.wordpress.com/2016/05/04/may-the-4th-be-with-you/
How much vinegar did it take to unfreeze the characters?
We didn’t keep track of how much vinegar we used, although that would be a great addition to the next experiment! 🙂
I just tried the experiment and the baking soda reacted instantly with the water. The mixture began to sparkle instantly.
And I took 100ml of baking soda (3 parts) and 33ml of water (1 part) – and the result was not fluid but solid. There was no way of “pouring” this stuff. But when I added more water it startet bubbling again.
This did not look like your result at all. The minifigures are in the freezer now, but I do not think this will work. Did I do anything wrong?
I should add that I am from Germany and translated “Baking Soda” to “Backpulver” in which sodium hydrogen carbonate is the main ingredient (apart from maize starch and diphosate).
Hi Johann, I have only ever used the U.S. version of baking soda. It sounds like what you used isn’t just straight-up baking soda. Are you able to get your hands on it, perhaps via Amazon? That’s my biggest suggestion.