Walking Water Rainbow
Coloured water travels between cups through paper towel strips, blending into new colours as it walks.
Thinking
4–9 years
10–20 min
Calm
Some mess
At home
What you need
- 6-7 clear cups
- Water
- Food colouring (red, yellow, blue)
- Paper towel strips
Setup
- Line up cups in a row, filling every other one with coloured water and leaving the rest empty
- Fold paper towel strips and place one end in a full cup, the other in the empty cup next to it
- Leave it for a few hours and check back
Play prompts
- What do you predict will happen to the empty cups overnight?
- What new colours do you see forming where two colours meet?
- How is the water moving up and across without being poured?
Ways to change it up
- Use only red, yellow, and blue to see all the colours they can make together
- Speed up the check-ins to every 30 minutes for a fast version
Safety notes
- Food colouring can stain clothing and surfaces, cover the work area
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