Explore Leaf Color With a Fun Chromatography Experiment

Let’s Play With Leaves

Start by gathering your materials. Most of these items you should be able to find around the house or at a nearby drug store.

Gather Your Supplies:

• Leaves of different colors and varieties (at least two of each type)
• A small glass or jar for each leaf type
• Plastic wrap
• Coffee filters
• Scissors
• Tape
• Popsicle sticks, pencils, OR straws
• Rubbing Alcohol
• Large, shallow tin

Directions:

1. Take a leaf, rip it into small pieces, and put it into a container.
2. Cover the leaves with a small amount of rubbing alcohol and cover the container with plastic wrap. Place a leaf of the same color and type onto the top of the container, this will help you keep track of which leaf is in each container.
3. Repeat this step with your remaining leaves.
4. Set each container in a tin with warm water, this will heat up the rubbing alcohol and help draw out the pigments from the leaves. Let the mixtures sit for at least 30 minutes.
5. For each container, cut a 1-inch thick strip of coffee filter paper a little taller than each jar or glass. Suspend a strip of filter paper into each container by taping it onto a popsicle stick, pencil, or straw. The bottom of the paper should be touching the mixture.
6. Then watch the colors slowly move up the filter paper and separate!

How cool is that?

You can document your findings in your nature journal. (If you want to learn how to create one, we have a Recipe for that!)

Explore the results with different types of leaves. We love how nature creates its own type of art!

Want to know more about this cool process?

The chemical process of photosynthesis is how plants make their food, and it enables them to absorb energy from the sun and use it to make sugars.

As summer turns to fall, chlorophyll begins to break down and photosynthesis no longer takes place. The leaves start changing color and falling to the ground.

By using chromatography, a scientific process for separating out items from a mixture, it’s possible to pull out those beautiful greens, yellows, red, and brown colors from leaves and showcase them!

Don’t you love that nature is so artistic?

We want to see your results!

We’d love to hear how this experiment went for you! Tag us on Facebook or Instagram and use #playalongsd.

This program was developed by the Children’s Museum of South Dakota with grant funding through the South Dakota Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities.