The balloon survives in the fire

Material

• 2 balloons (depending on the purpose of the illustration, white balloons are an advantage)
• Candle
• Lighter
• Water or red liquid (e.g. raspberry syrup or beetroot juice)

Larger quantities of white balloons are available from Bonacker Ballonversand (www.ballonversand.ch)

Carrying out the experiment:

1. Blow up a balloon, tie it up and hold it over a lighted candle. It won't be long before it bursts.
2. Now blow up the second balloon and fill it with water before tying it up. Now hold this balloon over the burning candle too. This time the balloon should not burst. Depending on the purpose of the illustration, you can fill a white balloon with a red liquid (see Bible passages below)

Biblical statement

Jesus as water in the balloon, protecting it from bursting. If Jesus lives in you, you are protected

Galatians 2, 20: I live, but it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. But the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me

2. I Corinthians 4:8-9: We are oppressed on every side, but we are not afraid. We are anxious, but we do not lose heart. We suffer persecution, but we are not abandoned. We are oppressed, but we do not perish.

You can also use red syrup instead of water and then make the illustration that the blood of Jesus (red) protects us. In this case, it is advantageous to use a white balloon so that the red color shines through.

This can also be used to illustrate the protection of the Israelites during the 10th plague in Egypt (Exodus 11 and 12)

Keywords

Chemical and physical experiments, fire, protection, chemistry, physics, experiments, blood

Proof of source

Cover picture: Markus Sigrist
Game idea: With the kind permission of BESJ (Bund Evangelischer Schweizer Jungscharen), slightly modified by Markus Sigrist