Leaf Chromatography Science Experiment For Kids
This fall leaf chromatography experiment is a perfect science experiment for kids. It is so fun to watch the different pigments from the fall leaves transfer from the leaf to the paper towel. If you have a little scientist in your life this is a perfect activity for them!
My kids love science experiments and after we did the walking water rainbow experiment and the rainbow rain science experiment I knew I wanted to find another awesome science experiment for my kiddos this fall. This chromatography experiment is a great nature activity for kids of all ages.
My preschooler loved seeing the bright colors and my older kids really enjoyed learning about the full chromatography process. I love when learning can be embedded into play and this is a great hands on science experiment for kids!
We started this experiment off by going on a fall leaf scavenger hunt to collect leaves of all colors. You can do this with any color leaf so if you don’t live in colder climates and your leaves don’t change colors green leaves will work just fine! However it is fun to do this experiment when the leaves change color so you can see how colorful pigments turn your paper towel strip a variety of colors!
Materials
- Leaves (it is fun to pick a variety of colors- we picked yellow leaves, red leaves and green leaves)
- Glass mason jar
- Rubbing alcohol
- Paper towels
- Scissors
Instructions to Create Your Leaf Chromatography Experiment
Collect your leaves
If you are doing a variety of colors, sort the leaves by color in their own separate jars. We used yellow, green and red leaves so had 3 jars for this experiment.
Use the scissors to cut up the leaves into small pieces.
Add in the isopropyl alcohol until the leaves are covered.
Mix the leaves and rubbing alcohol with a plastic spoons or popsicle sticks.
Fold your paper towel in half the long way and drape it over the top of the jar with one end of the strip of paper towel submerged in the isopropyl alcohol
Watch your paper towels turn different colors, this process can take a while so make sure to give it enough time before concluding the experiment. We started seeing colors on our paper towel within the first few hours, but we left it out overnight and noticed the most saturated color the next day.
Teaching Opportunities In This Chromatography Activity
You can talk to your child about how chromatography works. Leaf chromatography is an experiment that allows us to see the fun pigments that are hidden in leaves.
Chromatography is the process of separating components of a mixture. In this case the pigments of the leaves move up the paper towel to allow us to visualize them in another way. If you mix all the colors of leaves together into one jar, would the pigments move at the same rate up the paper towel or separate themselves throughout the paper towel?
This is also a good project to talk about the process of photosynthesis.
If you are working with middle school students you could talk about light energy and the main types of chlorophyll.
This is also a great experiment to talk about capillary action, this site has a great explanation of what capillary action is!
Questions To Ask Your Kids During This Experiment
Have your kids make predictions and talk about the scientific method. Some questions you can ask your child include:
- What do you think will happen with the color from the leaves?
- Do you think the pigment will absorb at different rates?
- How do different types of leaves affect this experiment?
- If you switched the paper towel and instead used a coffee filter or chromatography paper would they absorb at different speeds?
- What if you switched the liquid to hot water, would this change how the pigment is removed from the leaf and absorbed by the paper towel?
Other Fun Leaf Crafts For Kids
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