Daily Idea #180: Make Your Own Rainbow

Yesterday we put our celery stalks in 6 jars with water colored the various colors of the rainbow to watch as overnight the veins in the celery turned the color of the water. Today we are taking our prime colors and creating a rainbow.

Items needed:

6 small plastic or glass cups (I’m going to use the mason jars from yesterday and see how well it works)

6 strips of paper towel

3 primary colors of food dye (Red, Yellow, Blue)

Water

What to do:

Arrange your cups in a circle and fill the first, third, and 5th cups with water. Add some red food dye to the first cup, yellow food dye to the third cup, and blue food dye to the fifth cup (if you are using the drops, about 5 drops should be enough. If you are using the gel, just make sure it’s mixed thoroughly). Take each sheet of paper towel and fold it in half length wise. Then fold in half again lengthwise. Trim the paper towel so that not too much excess stands up over the cups. Place one half of the paper towel into the first cup and the other half in the second. Place the next one in the second and third cup. Then again in the third and the fourth cups. Another in the fourth and fifth. Again, in the fifth and sixth and finally, loop the sixth and first together with the last paper towel. Then watch as the water travels up the paper towel and travels to the cups to create the rainbow.

If your children are old enough, have them record their observations.