Learn how to make a smoke bomb using household materials! Create colourful poofs of “smoke” by adding baby powder and chalk to a clean eggshell and throwing it!
Regular smoke bombs use chemicals that are somewhat dangerous and difficult to find. These DIY chalk bombs use common household ingredients and are much easier to make! They create a super fun cloud of “smoke” in all kinds of different colours!
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How to Make a Smoke Bomb
Materials:
Equipment:
- Ziploc bag (small)
Check Out The Video Tutorial:
Instructions:
Step 1: Find what you need
- Gather your supplies and materials.
Step 2: Clean and dry an eggshell
- Crack the top of an egg gently on a hard surface, like a countertop or in your frying pan.
- Pick off the cracked eggshell to make a hole in the top of the egg.
- Empty the egg into your frying pan, cook, and enjoy!Wash and dry the eggshell carefully. (Read some helpful tips below!)
Step 3: Mix the chalk and baby powder
- Place a small piece of coloured chalk inside a small Ziploc bag.
- Use the back of a spoon or a rolling pin to crush the chalk into fine powder.You can also grate the chalk over a bowl.
- Add about 2 Tablespoons of baby powder to a bowl.
- Pour in the chalk so there's a 1 to 1 ratio of baby powder and chalk.Adjust the amount of either ingredient so they're roughly equal. It's okay if there's more baby powder than chalk powder.
- Stir together until the powders are well combined.
Step 4: Make your smoke bomb!
- Spoon the smoke bomb mixture into your dry eggshell until it's about half full. You can roll a piece of paper into a funnel if you have trouble getting the powder into the eggshell.
- Make more smoke bombs and store them in an egg carton.
- Your homemade smoke bombs are complete -- now have some fun with them outside!To use your smoke bomb, throw it or drop it from a good height with the open side up.
- As the smoke bomb lands it will create a large explosion of coloured "smoke".
- Now watch as the powder drifts into the air creating a bigger cloud of smoke!
*** CAUTION!! ***
- Baby powder is not safe to breathe. Do not breathe in the clouds of smoke made by these smoke bombs.Make sure you throw your smoke bomb at the ground or another hard surface, like a brick wall. DO NOT throw the smoke bomb indoors, at people, or at animals. If the smoke bomb falls near you, move away until you can no longer smell the baby powder.
Helpful Tips:
1. Extend play time by spraying the colourful powder with water and watch the colour spread. You can also use a paintbrush to create pictures on the sidewalk or driveway!
2. If you only want white smoke, just use baby powder! It will give you the same amount of smoke without the chalk.
How can I add colour to my smoke bomb?
We ground chalk into powder to add colour to our homemade smoke bombs. Artist’s chalk or sidewalk chalk are both good options for this.
But you can also colour your powder bombs with powdered tempera paint or a natural pigment, like mica powder.
Do I need to close off the smoke bombs?
We left the eggshells open on the top because we found that created the best smoke effect. We found that covering the opening on the egg muted the explosion and the powder didn’t rise as much.
If you’re worried about spilling the powder before throwing it, you can definitely cover the hole in the eggshell. Simply cut a square or circle of tissue paper and carefully attach it over the hole using a glue stick. Be sure to press gently!
How do I get the largest smoke from my homemade smoke bomb?
As mentioned, we found that leaving the eggs uncovered gave us the biggest smoke clouds. Also, the harder you throw the chalk bomb, the bigger the cloud of smoke!
What’s the best way to dry eggshells?
We simply washed out the eggshells carefully and then left them out to dry, hole side down, until we made our smoke bombs. Leave them to dry overnight for them to be completely dry.
If you want to use the eggshells right away, very carefully wipe the inside with a paper towel or cotton ball. Then wait about 30 minutes for them to dry.
Another fast way to dry the eggshells is to bake them in a 225 F oven for 15 – 20 minutes. Allow to cool before handling.
How can I clean up the mess from my DIY smoke bomb?
It’s very easy to clean up these smoke bombs! First, sweep up as much of the mess as possible and throw it in the garbage or compost. Then simply pour water from a watering can (or use a garden hose) to wash away any remaining residue!
Are these the same as store bought smoke bombs?
Store bought smoke bombs are typically made from chemicals and create a continuous stream of coloured smoke that rises out of a vessel of some kind.
These chalk smoke bombs are not the same. The “smoke” is short lived and doesn’t rise nearly as high. These homemade smoke bombs are more for fun and play.
Learn how to make a smoke bomb using simple ingredients! These smoke bombs are fun for outdoor play and are also a great way to make easy and fun sidewalk art!
Here’s even more fun play ideas:
Our book Low-Mess Crafts for Kids is loaded with 72 fun and simple craft ideas for kids! The projects are fun, easy and most importantly low-mess, so the clean up is simple!
Where to buy:
You can purchase Low-Mess Crafts for Kids from Amazon, or wherever books are sold:
Amazon |  Barnes and Noble | Books-A-Million | Indiebound |  Amazon Canada
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