Science for Tots

I have been wanting to do this but believe it or not, I had a hard time finding "non gel" food coloring. When I came across it today, I was so excited! And with Pete fishing with a friend tonight, it was the perfect opportunity to do this with Jack!

All we needed was a clear container (vase, jar, glass), water, canola oil, and food coloring. I chose to use something that I knew Jack could not easily pick up and drink. (If you read to the end, this was a very good idea)

To start: I filled up the vase with water. I knew I wanted to our about 2 inches worth of oil at the top and I didn't want the oil to be ready to overflow- plan accordingly.

Next, with all eyes watching. I started with the drops of food coloring. It was recommended to NOT start with blue so we did red. The food coloring will drop in and maintain its round shape. Ours hovered for a minute at the bottom of the oil and above the water. 

Then, it almost exploded into the water. As Jack would say, "wow, boom!"

We tried all four colors of course saving blue for last. Only a few drops of each color will do the trick. Then you end up with muddy water which Jack kept saying, "Jack drink"

Um... No thank you.