How To Make A Lava Lamp That Glows: Quick Guide

The lava lamp is fascinating home decor. The light, the movement, and the glow are both relaxing and artsy. And the good news is, you can do this yourself! Some lava lamps may be too pricey, but we're going to teach you how to make a lava lamp that glows so you can experience the same fascination with lesser cost.

Fun DIY: Making A Glow In The Dark Lava Lamp

Learning how to make a lava lamp that glows in the dark can be a fun activity for kids of all ages, and yes, that also means the kid in you. But since you will be dealing with some liquid mixtures, make sure you're working with children that can manage them well and carefully listen to your instructions.

Things you need:

1. recycled jars or bottles (washed and ready)
2. tonic water and water
3. Alka seltzer
4. baby oil or vegetable oil
5. food coloring (liquid)
6. glow in the dark pigment

How To Make A Regular Lava Lamp

Let's start with the basics:

• Step 1 - Prepare your jar or bottle.
• Step 2 - Pour water in your jar and keep it 1/4 full.
• Step 3 - Fill the jar with vegetable or baby oil but
• leave at least an inch at the top.
• Step 4 - Add some drops of liquid food coloring. At this point, you can ask the kids to observe how the coloring falls through the oil, rests on the water, and finally mixes with the water.
• Step 5 - If your Alka seltzer is in tablet form, split it into four pieces and add a quarter more (1 and 1/4 tablet) or a teaspoon's worth.

By this time, you should be able to see the lava lamp bubbling with life! When the reaction settles, just add more Alka seltzer for the same effect.

Now let's learn how to make a lava lamp that glows:

• Use tonic water instead of plain water and add the food coloring, followed by the Alka seltzer. Position this against a backlight to achieve its best effect.
• As an alternative in Step 4, use photoluminescent pigment instead of food coloring, so it glows without a backlight.

How To Make Glowing Liquid For Your Lava Lamp

You can also make a lava lamp using glowing liquid. Here are some simple steps:

• Step 1 - Put water in a jar.
• Step 2 - Get a highlighter pen and leave its tip in the water for 10 minutes, so it absorbs the ink.
• Step 3 - Expose your jar of water with UV light, so it absorbs light.

You can now use this glowing water with oil for your glow in the dark lava lamp!

Tip: Use different highlighter colors for more effects!

Conclusion

Learning how to make a lava lamp that glows is a rewarding journey of experimentation. Imagine enjoying customized glow all to yourself! Now that this fun DIY is within your reach, you can start making more lava lamps by improving their look and style.