The key to this experiment is NOT LETTING THE KIDS TOUCH THE CUPS until it is their turn to be sorted.

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Since I had the entire potions class set up in my kitchen, I simply did this experiment on the stove top the day of the party.

The magic is that there is a drop of dried food coloring at the bottom of the cups in either red, blue, green, or yellow that is covered with a thin layer of baking soda making the cups look EMPTY. Oil sits on water, add drops of food coloring, and they sit on top of the water as well making them look like they are floating. The Fire Snake potion most definitely needs to be done by an adult, and in a safe space (outdoors or on top of the oven). Then I poured in the magical Hogwarts House Sorting Solution (vinegar) which revealed their house color!You can read more about how the potion bottles added intrigue to the party in Part 1 of the potions class. Be sure to cover your tabletop with a plastic tablecloth (this stone tablecloth keeps in theme with the party) or some sort of covering. Of course when vinegar and baking soda meet you get a lot of bubbles which totally looked like magic was happening in this “empty” cup.

I also included in the video the potion bottles we used to make this experiment work which makes it even more fun to do! Just add a couple of drops of 1 color food coloring to the center of a cup and allow it to dry overnight. They definitely add a lot of ambiance to the entire idea of being in a potions class with lots of fun references to the wizarding world. It was a fun surprise for them to find out if they were Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin.And, just for fun, the potions are in code using words like Crushed Phoenix Feathers (in lieu of baking soda) and Basilisk Venom (instead of warm water), but don’t worry, I include a decoded ingredient chart as well. The image above with blue sand (because our code for “sand” in this potion is “baby dragon scales” so this blue looked super cool!) was the potion the day of the party. Your Harry Potter party will be extra magical with these fantastic Harry Potter Potions Class ideas! It did NOT work like it was supposed to, but the kids still thought it was pretty cool that we were setting something on fire.