Make a Rainbow

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Make a Rainbow

June 26, 2020

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Who thought science could be so colorful?!

Experiment with water and food coloring to brighten your day.

Here’s a step-by-step tutorial to create a beautiful rainbow.

Materials

  • Clear plastic cups (smaller cups work better since you will want to make them full)
  • Red, yellow, and blue food coloring (liquid watercolor works, too!)
  • 6 napkins or paper towels
  • Water

Get ready to make your rainbow!

1. Fill 6 clear cups about 3/4 full of water. Then, get that food coloring ready.

Plastic cups filled with water and water color
Add red, blue, and yellow to 3 of the cups. One color per cup. Place your cups in a circle, alternating clear water and colored water.

3. Next, grab your paper towels and fold them in half lengthwise as pictured.

Plastic cups with food coloring in them with paper towels folded nearby.
Be sure the paper towels are long enough to be placed in the water of each cup.

4. Place the paper towels in the cups.

Clear cups with color in them. Paper towels overlapping between the cups.
Be sure one end of the paper towel is in a colored cup and the other end is in a clear water cup.

5. Finally, watch and wait!

Clear cups with food coloring and paper towels between them making a rainbow
Watch as the colors bleed together through the paper towels creating a rainbow.

Thanks for playing along!