Walking Water Rainbow Science Experiment For Kids
If you have little scientists in your life this walking water rainbow science experiment is a must do activity! My kids thought it was absolute magic to watch the water walk between cups, creating a really pretty rainbow of colors. This is a great hands on activity to teach kids about capillary action and scientific method!
Ever since doing the climbing rainbow experiment with my kids I’ve been wanting to do another walking water experiment. My boys love hands on activities and this experiment was so much fun. My husband and I got into it just as much as my boys, it is safe to say that this is a great activity for kids of all ages. 🙂
As you watch the water molecules move from a full cup to an empty cup and then watch the colors mix, it was nothing short of magical watching the rainbow of color form. It was so fun to watch the water level in the cups change over time until they eventually became even. The secondary colors that were formed created this really pretty rainbow circle. This goes on my list of easy science experiments that I am sure we will do again!
In this post I’ll walk you through, step by step, how to create this really fun experiment with your kids. This science experiment took very simple supplies, all of which we had on hand at home already. We ended up doing this experiment multiple times and I’ll share our tips and tricks we did to get great results!
Materials Needed
- 6 clear cups
- Blue, red & yellow food coloring
- Paper towels
- Water
How To Create Your Walking Water Rainbow Science Experiment
Take your 6 cups and put them in a circle
Pour water into every other cup ( fill the cup at least 3/4 full)
Add 1 drop of red food coloring in one cup with water
Add 1 drop of yellow food coloring to the cup with water to the left of the red food coloring cup
In the last cup with water add 1 drop of blue food coloring
Lightly stir the colors in with the water if needed
Cut a 2″ strip of paper towel (approximately 1/4 of a full paper towel sheet or 1/2 of the half-sheet paper towels)
Cut off about 1 1/2″-2″ of the end of the paper towel strip so that it sits in the cup without too much extra
Fold the paper towel, long ways, in half
Place the paper towel strips between each cup as shown below, alternating between glasses of water and empty glasses
Watch the magic happen! Please be aware that the full process can take multiple hours so patience is key 🙂
Tips & Tricks When Doing This Science Experiment
- Our colors transferred much better when we used shorter glasses versus tall 16 oz glasses.
- Some people just use the 1/2 paper towel sheet (folded in half) but we found that cutting that half sheet in half again worked the best and transferred the colors well.
- BE PATIENT- it can take hours before you notice the water transferring. We let it sit for a full day and it was so fun to wake up the next morning to each cup with an equal level of water and new colors that created a really pretty rainbow.
- Make sure your drops of food coloring are equal between the red, yellow and blue water glasses- if your blue or red is too concentrated it will throw the color mixing off and your secondary colored water may turn brown.
Teaching Opportunities When Making Your Walking Water Rainbow
As much as we joked about this experiment being pure magic, the science behind it is actually really cool to learn about. It was so fun to talk about how this experiment shows us exactly how trees and plants get their nourishment to grow. It is an excellent way to introduce scientific method.
Some questions I asked my kids before starting the experiment to get their scientific minds thinking:
- What do you think is going to happen?
- How does the water travel from a full jar to an empty jar with just a paper towel?
- How long do you think it will take to move the water to the empty cup?
- How does the water move? (This is a great way to open the door to conversation about science concepts like the process of capillary action and adhesive forces)
- What color will the water be in the empty containers?
- What are primary colors versus secondary colors? (It may be helpful to take out a color wheel for this conversation)
- Would there be a difference if we used a different type of paper towels, or a kleenex instead of a paper towel?
Other Simple Science Experiments Your Kids Will Love
Rainbow Rain Science Experiment
I hope you enjoy this science project as much as we did- I would love to hear from you if you did this with your kids!
