Tagged with 'DIY'

All kids love experiments!! They are captivated by the unknown and in awe of the results. The crawling rainbow experiment is a sure crowd pleaser for all age levels! It simulates how secondary colors are created from primary colors. What a gorgeous color wheel it creates!

The beauty of this experiment is that it requires little prep and simple supplies, and leaves little to no mess! So if you’re working with little ones, you can rest easy.

Supplies

- 5 or 6 clear plastic cups or mason jars

-Water

- Paper towels cut into strips

- Food color drops or gel dye

Experiment Time

Getting started, it might be a good idea to begin with asking the kiddos predictions of what they think might happen and why. I’m always so amazed with their background knowledge with the phenomena in the world around us. After the discussion, prepare three cups with water filled three-quarters of the way full. Add as much or as little of the primary color food coloring as desired (red, yellow, blue). I believe adding more color will produce better results.

Next, prepare two cups with water and assemble them as seen in the picture above. You will notice the osmosis occurring instantly! The colors will slowly begin to“crawl”and form the secondary colors.

Be aware that you’ll need to let the cups set for some time (a few hours) for final results, however, check back in to see the color changes happening periodically. If the kiddos play with the water in the cup, the color will begin to transfer more quickly. Some of my favorite pictures of the experiment happened during the color transfer. It’s incredible to seethe two pigments coming together. After having finished the experiment, I wish I had added a sixth cup to watch purple form. I think you should definitely give it a try!

If you’re looking to extend this experiment, you can pair it with the incredible book, MIXED. It’s “A Colorful Story” about how lucky we are to live in a world full of different colors. It begins with red, yellow and blue and ends with endless colors!

Final Product

Enjoy this highly engaging experiment as the excitement unfolds before your very eyes!

Save it for later!

Every year, Americans observe the Fourth of July, a holiday celebrating our country's independence. While the Fourth may look a bit different this year due to social distancing, there are still plenty of ways to have fun right at home.This year, make the most of your Fourth of July celebration and show a little patriotism, too, with our favorite traditional American games, like:

1. Bobbing for Apples

   This classic cool-down game is perfect for a hot, almost-summer celebration. Simply fill an oversized bowl or cooler with water, float some smallish-sized apples, and set the timer to see who can grab the most apples, using only their teeth, in 60 seconds.

2.Potato Sack Races

Since not many of us are buying our potatoes by the sack, you may want to opt for old pillow cases here. Designate a starting line and a finish line, line up your racers, and have each person step both feet into a pillowcase. The first racer to hop their way to the finish line wins.

3.Three-Legged Race

Turn the traditional Potato Sack Race into a team sport by assigning one pillow case to every two people. Players stand together, then step the leg closest to their partner into the case, holding the edge with their inside hands. Ready, set, run, with three legs instead of two!

4.Baseball Game

What’s more American than baseball? An impromptu baseball game adds a bit of patriotic pep to any summer party. Bring a tee for the kids and batter up!

5.Red, White, and Blue Tag

Divide your guests into three teams and tuck a 6”red, white, or blue streamer into the waist of their shorts. Call “ready, set, go” and all players race to collect one streamer of each color first!

6.Spoon Race

It takes a steady hand to win this old favorite! Break into teams, with half of each team’s players on either end of a start and finish line. Hand the first players at the starting line a hard boiled egg, balanced on a spoon. Blow the whistle and they’re off, racing toward the next player on their team at the finish line and passing the egg without dropping it, until the first team crosses the finish line, egg on spoon.

7.Beanbag Toss

Even if you don’t have your own corn hole game you can easily create a fun beanbag toss using bowls and buckets. Set them up at varying distances and take turns seeing who can get one beanbag in each target.

8.Limbo

Although limbo originated in Trinidad, Americans have embraced this back-breaking, body-bending move as our own. Designate two “holders”, line your guests up, then grab your broom and turn on the tunes, taking turns passing under the limbo stick, bellybutton first. Fall down and you’re out; lower the stick each time the whole line has made a pass until only one player is standing.

9.Neck to Neck

Really get to know your guests, up close and personal, with this touchy-feely game of pass the balloon. Gather your guests in a circle, then tuck a balloon under your chin. Turn to your neighbor and pass the balloon to their chin,without any hands. Continue until the balloon comes full circle.

10.Tug of War

Go mano a mano with your friends and family in a good old-fashioned game of tug of war! Grab a rope (knots are cheating!), divide into teams, set a center point, and... PULL! Tug back and forth until one team brings the other down, literally.

  Happy Fourth of July! 

Are you hosting a sleepover? Pack your child’s overnighter with a fun science craft! Here’s a fun and safe way to grow rock crystals during the night when your child and their buddies catch some ZZZ’s.