Science in the Park - Colors!

This weeks science was all about colors!  There were 3 expiements meant to "wow" the kids into guessing what would happen next!

Experiment 1: Coffee Filter Science

Materials:

• Coffee filters
• Yogurt cups with water in it
• Scissors
• Markers

How to:

• Take a white coffee filter and cut it into strips. 
• Draw a thick line about an inch from the bottom with a marker. 
• Place the coffee filter below the marker line in the water and let the coffee filter soak up the water. Then the colors will bleed up the coffee filter paper and will separate.  So if the marker was green, you will see streaks of yellow and blue. 

 

Experiment 2: Magic Spoons

Materials:

• Plastic spoons (preferably white)
• Vinegar
• Yogurt cups
• Baking Soda
• Food Coloring

 

How to:

• Without the kids looking - put a drop or two of food coloring on each spoon. 
• Add a lump of baking to each spoon.
• Fill up the yogurt cups with vinegar.
• Give each kid a yogurt cup and a magic spoon.
• Stir the magic spoon into the vinegar.
• The baking soda and the vinegar react and if you keep stiring - the color is revealed!

 

The Science:

Vinegar is an acid and baking soda is a base.  The acid and base react to form a gas (carbon dioxide) which are the bubbles that excite the kids so much!

 

Experiment 3: Pipette-ing

Next we broke out the pipettes and continued the acid base reactions.

 

Materials

• Pipettes
• more baking soda
• more vinegar
• tray

 

How to:

• Put little lumps of baking soda in the tray.
• Put some vinegar in yogut cups (color them if desired)
• Instruct the kids to use the pipette to suck up some of the vinegar and drop it into the baking soda to get the "fizz".
• This gives the kids a chance to practice using a pipette and it's fun!

 

Enjoy!