Walking Water Experiment for Kids - Exploring Color Mixing

Walking Water Experiment

This exciting experiment demonstrates how water can move through absorbent materials (like paper towels) and how primary colors combine to create new colors. You'll only need a few materials and some basic steps to perform this colorful adventure!

Materials Needed:

• 7 clear glasses (or cups)
• Water
• Red, blue, and yellow food coloring (representing primary colors)
• Paper towels
• Spoon or stirrer for mixing

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Set Up the Glasses: Place the seven glasses in a row. Fill the first glass with water and add red food coloring. Fill the second glass with water and add blue food coloring. Fill the third glass with water and add yellow food coloring. Leave the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh glasses empty.
2. Prepare the Paper Towels: Take a piece of paper towel and fold it lengthwise. You will need three pieces of folded paper towel strips: one end goes into the glass with red water, and the other end goes into the empty glass next to it. Repeat this for the blue and yellow glasses, creating a bridge between the colored water and the empty glasses.
3. Observe the Capillary Action: Over time, the water will begin to move up the paper towels into the empty glasses, due to a phenomenon called capillary action. This is when water is drawn upwards through tiny spaces in the paper towel fibers.
4. Watch the Colors Mix: As the water travels through the paper towel, you'll see the colors start to combine in the empty glasses. The red and yellow will create orange, the red and blue will make purple, and the blue and yellow will yield green. This visual is not only beautiful but also a fantastic demonstration of how colors blend!
5. Discuss and Learn: Once the experiment is complete, talk about what happened. Discuss the principle of capillary action, the importance of primary colors, and how mixing colors creates secondary colors.

Conclusion:

The Walking Water Experiment is a simple yet effective way to engage children in science, art, and color theory. Kids can visually witness science in action and learn while having fun!