Mad Scientists – COLOR

Print out a color wheel so that kids can color while you are setting things up. Bring tape to put the color wheel in the journals.

1) What colors are in black?

Materials:

12+ strips of filter paper or paper towels

1 sharpie marker

Numerous black markers/pens that are water soluble

Large clean bowl

Set up:

Each child writes name at end of a strip of paper with Sharpie marker

Fill bowl with water

Activity:

Each child picks a black marker and draws a thick line across a strip of paper, about 1-2 inches away from the end (on the other end from where they put their names)

Dip the tip of that end of the paper in the bowl of water and leave it there

Observe! Move on to next experiment but keep coming back to the bowl to observe.

Take out after a little while, let dry.

Strip of paper can be kept in note book

2) Pretty Science

Materials:

White cotton square (12)

Sturdy plastic cupts (12)

Rubber bands

Sharpies of different colors

Rubbing Alcohol

12 + pipettes

Set up:

Each child gets piece of material, a cup and a rubber band (assist them with putting the material on the cup)

Give children access to sharpies of different colors

Have them draw colored dots in a circle the size of a quarter

Give each child a pipette and a little bit of rubbing alcohol

Activity:

Add drops of rubbing alcohol, one drop of a time, in the middle of the circle of dots.

Observe.

3) Mixing colors

Materials:

12 mixing trays

12 + pipettes

12 small clear plastic cups

3 14-16 oz bottles of premixed colors: blue, yellow, red (order from SteveSpanglerScience.com)

Bowl for dumping out trays for easy clean up

Set up:

Kids sit in groups of two or three .

Each kid gets a mixing tray

Each group gets a set of three colors in a plastic cup – each cup gets a plastic pipette (stress that each pipette can only be used for that one color).

Activity:

Mix colors in your tray!

4) Color in milk

Materials:

12 metal pie pans

12 + q-tips

4 small plastic cups

1 gallon of whole milk

food coloring (4 colors, type that comes out in drops)

dishwashing liquid

Bowl for dumping out pans for easy clean up

Set up:

Each kid gets a metal pie pan and 1 q-tip

Each group of 4 has a small plastic cup with a little dishwashing liquid in it

Grown-ups:

  • pour thin layer of milk into each pan
  • put one drop of each color of food coloring in middle of pan

Stress to children not to bump into or shake the pan

Activity:

Kids dip q-tip straight down into the middle of the food coloring – nothing happens.

Kids dip q-tip in diswashing liquid

Touch middle of pan gently and briefly.

Observe!