ChemIsTry of Fireworks - Groovy Lab in a Box #STEMforKids

Here’s the deal behind the Chemistry of Fireworks – and yes, with anything worthwhile, you really need to Try.

Fireworks are created by chemistry. The colors are produced by the heating of metal salts, that emit characteristic colors. The atoms of each element absorb energy and release it as light of specific colors. The energy absorbed by an atom rearranges its electrons from their lowest-energy state, called the ground state, up to a higher-energy state, called an excited state. The excess energy of the excited state is emitted as light, as the electrons descend to lower-energy states, and ultately, the ground state.

Photograph showing fireworks over an island overlaid with the chemical symbols that create each color.

Photograph of a red sky filled with fireworks.

Photograph of colorful fireworks over a bridge.

Join Now! and challenge your STEMists to a monthly Groovy Lab in a Box, full of everything a child needs to learn about and do hands-on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) investigations. Our monthly box activates thinking, questioning, inquiring and original creation as we guide children through scientific inquiry and engineering design process.