Science Experiments For Kids Using Food Coloring

I took the time to try out a few science experiments for kids using food coloring and we had a blast!!!

Not only were they all very hands on but we had almost all of the materials already sitting in our cabinets. I love when we can use items we have on hand. It keeps the activities budget friendly and teaches the little ones you can do a variety of things with certain products!

Lets take a look at what we did….

 

3 Science Experiments For Kids Using Food Coloring

 

Walking Water Rainbow

 

 

As you can see we ended up with some color variations we weren’t expecting because we chose to mix up the color pattern.

That is why we call these an experiment! We studied our outcome which was a great and fun learning experience!

 

 

You Will Need:

• 7 clear cups
• Paper towels
• Food coloring (primary colors)
• Water

 

First you will fill the water cups 3/4 of the way..

 

 

Then you will put 4-5 drops of food coloring in every other cup. Starting with red, skip, yellow, skip, blue, skip, red. We changed things up a bit to see what would happen and added in some pink at the end too! 

And then take a folded piece of paper towel and place in between each cup with the ends submerged into the cup of coloring completely. Shorten the ends by cutting off a bit if they are long enough to stick up out of the water. 

The color will start to “creep” up almost immediately. 

Recommend to leave overnight to see what the results are in the morning! 

Here is a great worksheet that you can use during your walking water experiment!

You can discuss things like:

1. What will happen when these colors mix together? What color will it form?
2. If I was to switch the pattern, what color would THAT form?
3. What is capillary action? (Paper towel is made from fibers that have gaps, capillary tubes in the gaps allow water to defy gravity and travel upwards- similar action happens from a plants roots to its leaves)

 

 

DIY Volcano Eruption

 

What You Will Need:

• Medium size glass or jar
• Tray unless you are doing in a sink or outside
• Food coloring of color choice
• Dish soap
• Baking Soda
• Optional: Play doh

 

 

This experiment is super fun! It has a big WOW reaction from the kids and teaches them about properties of certain ingredients and how they react together. We added in some extra steps to make it feel more hands on and realistic!

First you can cover your glass jar in play doh to make it feel more like a real volcano. The play doh will get wet and need to be tossed after so I recommend using play doh that is starting to dry up or maybe a batch that has been mixed together. 

Next, you will mix a cup of baking soda with some food coloring, a squirt of dish soap and water until a blended “pancake batter” like consistency.

 

It is eruption time! Pour your baking soda sludge into the glass container and add your vinegar! 1-2 cups of vinegar will do the trick. The more you add the more you will erupt! Pour slowly to get a good bubble up and blow reaction!!!

 

Rain Cloud in a Jar

 

What You Will Need:

• Large clear jar
• Shaving cream (non gel)
• Neon Food coloring
• Small cups for food coloring
• Water droppers or pipettes

 

First you will use your small cups to mix food coloring and some water. The darker the mixture the better. You will use your droppers to bring the colored water from the cups to your science experiment. 

Secondly, fill your large clear cups 3/4 of the way with water. Wait to add shaving cream until you are ready to start your experiment.

 

When you are ready to start shake the shaving cream well and spray into the top of your large water cup.

Next, fill to the top but make sure the top is somewhat level so that your colors don’t run over the outside. 

Then let your little scientists get creative with their colors. 

Add droplets of color to the top of your “rain cloud” or shaving cream. This will mimic the actions of a rain storm. It will show how a rain cloud gets heavy with rain and eventually it can no longer hold the weight and the rain falls down through the cloud. 

Have your children make predictions of how many drops it will take until the cloud is too heavy to carry the weigh anymore!

See who wins with a correct guess!

 

I hope that you enjoyed some of these easy but interesting science experiments for kids using food coloring! 

Take a look at what you have in your cabinets for supplies and give them a try with your tiny tots!

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Love, light and a little grace…

-Olivia