Colour Changing Flower (Science at Home)
This is a super simple and fun experiment to do at home – traditionally people do this experiment with white carnations – as the contrast and result is so striking and really obvious. But we were in middle of our school holidays, the kids were a little bored and we had some daffodils in the garden. So with my Red Ted Art hat on, I thought – hey.. how about showing the way water travels in a flower AND explore yet more colour theory?
So the experiment:
Materials: daffodils (or carnations, if you want to stay traditional), food colouring, water and a glass
We tried blue and red water. What would happen with the blue water and the yellow flower? What with red and yellow?
Sadly the red water flower shrivelled up (I think I added too much food dye and it didn’t fair too well, we tried again with more diluted red colour and it worked better, but I forgot to photograph it – lesson: don’t poison your flower with too much dye!).
And hooray! We have some green patterns on blue water flower. Showing how water travels up the stem, into the petals and how yellow and blue make green. Wonderful.
This took us 10minutes to set up – if that. It was a great little distraction during the holidays and I KNOW we will be trying out this experiment again – with different flowers etc over the years.
Remember these sort of experiments are great to do over and over again, as the kids WILL forget and they WILL enjoy seeing it happen again.
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I love this – we did Daffodils last year as it was the only thing to hand and did daisy’s this year (never have carnations!) It’s an experiment I remember doing every year – tulips are great for colour exploration 🙂
Cerys @ Rainy Day Mum recently posted..Back to Basics X is for…
Oooh yes, we will have to try daisies next! Great idea, The Girl is forever picking those!!!
I need to try this out with my daughter! What a great opportunity for teaching!
Kelly @ Texas Type A Mom recently posted..Plan and Prepare for Relocation with Unpakt
Have fun!
I really ought to do this with my children.
Pinkoddy recently posted..Choosing a School
Yes, do! So quick and easy!
I always have problems with science experiments going wrong too. I guess that’s part of the process though?!
Thanks for sharing on The Sunday Showcase. I’ve pinned to our board.
Rebecca recently posted..Does your child have ADHD?
Oh yes!! Most definitely part of the process!!
oooh great, we love this one too. x
Emma @sciencesparks recently posted..How does your garden grow?
Visiting from the Sunday Showcase. I’d love for you to share your family-friendly crafts and ideas at Monday Kid Corner at thejennyevolution.com. See you at the party!
Jennifer
Jennifer recently posted..Monday Kid Corner Round Up #18