Chemistry of fireworks colors revealed in handy chart

Watching fireworks' colors explode across the sky is a blast, of course, but where do those multifarious hues actually come from? Boing Boing notes that the Works, a kids science and tech museum in Bloomington, Minnesota, has posted a chart on its Facebook page revealing the chemistry behind the colors. For instance, green fireworks are made with barium, turquoise with copper, electric white with white-hot metal flakes, red with strontium, yellow with sodium, and those sparkly silver ones with burning metal flakes (aluminum or magnesium). Now you'll have more than "ooh" and "ah" to offer at your local July 4 fireworks display. On second thought, maybe stick to "ooh" and "ah."