VP Popup 08/11/20 Walking Rainbow

Walking Rainbow

Create a colorful, "walking" rainbow with only a few supplies with this fun and easy science experiment.

Tuesday, August 11

Make your own indoor rainbow! All you need is a few simple supplies from your house to create a rainbow that walks from one color to the next!

This activity is for all ages.

Supplies:

7 small jars, glasses, or clear cups
Red, yellow, and blue food coloring
Water
Paper towels

The Challenge:

Watch this video first to see how the experiment is set up, and then follow the steps below to conduct your own experiment! https://youtu.be/_EZH4o-_c-E

Set up your experiment:

Set your jars or glasses in a straight line.
Fill the first, third, fifth, and seventh jars with water (fill about 3/4 of the jar). Make sure you do not add water to the other jars.
Add the food coloring:
Add red to the first and seventh jars
Add yellow to the third jar
Add blue to the fifth jar
Do not add food coloring to the jars without water!
Fold each of the six paper towels in half lengthwise (so they are long and skinny). Fold in half lengthwise 1-2 more times.
Place the paper towels in the glass jars. Start by placing the end of one paper towel in the first jar (the jar with red water) and place the other end of the paper towel in the second jar (the empty jar between the jar with red water and the jar with yellow water). Using the next paper towel, place one end in the second jar and the other end in the jar with the yellow water. Continue placing the rest of the paper towels in the jars so that the paper towels connect all the jars together.
Sit back and watch as your rainbow begins to form by "walking" from the water jars to the empty jars!