Harry Potter Potions Class - Part 2

Your Harry Potter party will be extra magical with these fantastic Harry Potter Potions Class ideas!

This is part 2 of a 2 part series. You can find part 1 here.

Don’t miss the other parts of our Harry Potter Birthday Party:
Harry Potter Wand Shop
Sorting Hat Dogs
DIY Backyard Quidditch
Harry Potter Cake & Party Decor
Harry Potter Potions Class – Part 1

Today I am sharing part 2 of the potions class we held during our Harry Potter birthday party!

Last week I shared part 1, which included the following potions:

Troll Toothpaste
Troll Bogeys (our 2nd most popular potion!)
Secret Messages
and Miniature Rain Clouds

Today I am sharing 4 new potions including:

Magic Water Drops
Dancing Water Drops
Fire Snake
and Hogwarts Sorting House Potion (our #1 most popular potion!)

Click each experiment above to go directly to the experiment in the post.

And, don’t forget, I’m sharing easy printable “recipes” for all of these potions!

You’ll find them at the end of this post.

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.

I have broken down each potion below with an ingredient list and some basic tips and tricks but for the full potion explanation be sure to download my free Potions Class Experiments printables.

I am also selling hi res versions of my potion labels on Etsy.

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 will make the entire experience more authentic!

They perfectly match all of the experiments listed below and come pre-sized, as well as individual JPG files so they can be resized to better fit your potion bottles.

There are 27 labels in total, including 3 water bottle wrappers and food tent labels for your food party table.

The Hogwarts Sorting House Solution label is now a free download you can find under the experiment for it towards the end of the post.

You can read more about how the potion bottles added intrigue to the party in Part 1 of the potions class.

Let’s move on to our first experiment!

Harry Potter Potions Class: Magic Water Drops

To make Magic Water Drops you will need:

Clear container (a cylindrical vase would work)
Canola or vegetable oil
Water
Food Coloring

This Magic Water Drops potion is just your basic density experiment.

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.

But to little ones it definitely looks like magic!

And it easily leads to a secondary potion: Dancing Water Drops!

Keep scrolling to see a video to show how simple these experiments are to do.

Harry Potter Potions Class: Dancing Water Drops

To make Dancing Water Drops you will need:

Everything we just used to do the Magic Water Drops
Something to stir with
Alka-Seltzer tablet

This is your basic homemade lava lamp experiment!

You can continue directly from the Magic Water Drops potion into this one by simply stirring the solution to get some of the food coloring to settle into the water.

Then, break up an Alka-Selter tablet into 4-5 pieces and drop them into the container 1 at a time.

See the video below for a simple visual.

Easy peasy, right?

You can download the full instructions towards the end of the post.

I also included in the video the potion bottles we used to make this experiment work which makes it even more fun to do!

Harry Potter Potions Class: Fire Snake

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).

And you will most certainly want to practice ahead of time.

This experiment can be finicky and you’ll need to practice to get it right.

But luckily it doesn’t use any ingredients that are difficult to find.

So why should you attempt this experiment?

It will definitely wow your guests!

To make a Fire Snake you will need:

Heat proof container
Sand
Rubbing alcohol
Baking soda
Powdered sugar
Fire

The first image I shared of our Fire Snake was my practice one.

It worked on the first try!

So I was left feeling super confidant.

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.

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.

I told them we made a bunch of baby fire snakes, and they were okay with that.

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 trial experiment I did outside on the sidewalk.

NOTE: For a heat proof container, a pie tin works perfectly!

Invest in several because they also are great containers for the Troll Toothpaste potion.

Grab the full instructions on my Potions Class Experiment Recipes printable below.

Harry Potter Potions Class: Hogwarts House Sorting Potion

This is it!

Our #1 most popular experiment during potions class was the Hogwarts House Sorting Potion!

I had a feeling it would be a hit so we saved it for last.

Side note: Be sure you prepare enough for the adults to participate, too. Trust me!

We sorted every witch and wizard into their own Hogwarts House!

It was a fun surprise for them to find out if they were Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin.

I made a video to show you how it works.

To make the Hogwarts House Sorting Potion you will need:

Red, green, blue, and yellow food coloring
Paper cups with WHITE interiors
Baking soda
White distilled vinegar
FREE printable Hogwarts House Sorting Solution label (JPG, PDF)

That’s it! ALL household items you probably already have will make this super magical experiment.

The label can be resized to your containers need using the JPG version.

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

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.

If kids handle the cups a lot you know they are going to be swinging it around and it will mess up the surprise.

We had all the cups on a tray and had the kids line up.

When it was their turn they selected a cup at a random cup to tell them their house.

Then I poured in the magical Hogwarts House Sorting Solution (vinegar) which revealed their house color!

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.

And once the food coloring got wet… well it changed the color of the liquid!

NOTE: You do need to prep this the night before to be sure your food coloring dries in the cups.

Just add a couple of drops of 1 color food coloring to the center of a cup and allow it to dry overnight.

I think we made 30 or so cups.

The next day just cover with a thin layer of baking soda, and you’re ready for the party!