Tea Bag Ghost Experiment

Watch a ghost take flight with a tea bag, a match, and a little science! 

The Tea Bag Ghost Experiment turns an ordinary tea bag into a ghost that rises right before your eyes. Draw a ghost face, light the top, and watch closely. Then discover the science behind your flying ghost. This simple Halloween science experiment is a fun way to explore how heat and warm air can make your ghost take flight.

Note: Adult supervision is required. An adult should handle the matches and help with scissors. Keep the experiment away from windy areas and anything that could catch fire. 

What You Need:

• Tea bag
• Matches
• Scissors 
• Marker 

Instructions:

1. Open the tea bag wrapper and remove the tea bag.
2. Snip off the top where the staple and string are attached. 
3. Pour out the tea. You won’t need the tea itself for this experiment. 
4. Then, open the empty tea bag into a tube. 
5. Use a marker to draw a face on the tube. 
6. Stand your tea bag ghost upright on a flat, fire-safe surface. 
7. Finally, have an adult light the top of the tea bag. Then, watch what happens! 

Why Does the Tea Bag Ghost Fly?

Here is where the science comes in! 

As the tea bag burns, it heats the air around and inside the paper tube. And because warm air is less dense than cooler air, it rises. The rising warm air creates an upward current.  

At first, the tea bag is too heavy to rise with the warm air. But as the paper burns, only a very light piece of ash remains. The rising warm air carries the ash upward—and then up your ghost goes! 

Are you ready for more Halloween science? Keep experimenting with 12 more activities that our science educators have created and tested.