How fireworks get their color and where to see them this 4th of July weekend

OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — Fourth of July weekend may be the biggest holiday of the summer, with cook-outs, camping trips, boating excursions and more! But the 4th of July also includes one of the biggest firework displays of the year!

So what makes these booming displays of light so colorful and exciting to watch?

The vibrant and gorgeous colors are created by simple chemical reactions.

Within every firework is placed an “aerial shell”, or tube. Packed inside of this tube is not only gunpowder, but also dozens of tiny pyrotechnic modules that contain fuel, an oxidizing agent and binder, and metal salts.

Now metal salts aren’t like your basic table salts or bath salts. In chemistry, “salts” are considered any substance that contains both metal and non-metal atoms.

Once a firework is ignited, a lift charge propels it hundreds of feet into the sky. Meanwhile, there’s a time-delayed fuse that burns into the aerial shell which eventually breaks and explodes in mid-air. The ignition of the shell scatters the tiny modules across the sky, all the while burning the metal salts, creating a dazzling light show.

Varying types of metal salts will produce different colors when burned.

The combination of these different kinds of metal salts and differences in the aerial shells will not only create a rainbow of color, but will also produce varying kinds of booms, bangs, & sizzles!

Below is a list of locations you can safely watch fireworks this 4th of July weekend:

Edmond Liberty Fest ⇒ E. C. Hafer Park at 9:30pm on Monday, July 4th

El Reno: Food, Friends, & Fireworks ⇒ Lake El Reno at dusk on Sunday, July 3rd

Kingfisher Independence Celebration ⇒ City Park at 8:00pm on Sunday, July 3rd

Midwest City Tribute to Liberty ⇒ Joe B. Barnes Regional Park at 9:45pm on Monday, July 4th

Norman’s 4th Fest ⇒ Reaves Park at 9:45pm on Monday, July 4th

Oklahoma City’s 4th of July in Bricktown ⇒ Bricktown at 9:45pm on Monday, July 4th

Piedmont Freedom Fest⇒ Fireworks begin at dusk on Monday, July 4th

Yukon’s Freedom Fest ⇒ Chisholm Trail Park at dusk on both July 3rd & 4th

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