walking water
Walking water: Dive into the magical world of science with your little ones!
Are you ready to embark on a thrilling journey of discovery with your pint-sized Einsteins? The wondrous realm of science experiments is just waiting to be explored.
Why science experiments with kids?
First things first, let’s talk about why science experiments are so great for your munchkins:
Unleash their inner curiosity
Kids are natural-born scientists with an insatiable thirst for knowledge. Science experiments are like fuel for their curious minds, igniting a passion for learning that’ll last a lifetime.
Hands-on learning
Forget boring textbooks and lectures. Science experiments are all about getting your hands dirty (well, maybe not that dirty) and experiencing the magic of discovery firsthand.
Foster critical thinking
Science isn’t just about memorizing facts; it’s about asking questions, making observations, and forming hypotheses. When you’re doing an experiment ask your kids what they think will happen. By conducting experiments, your little ones will sharpen their critical thinking skills faster than you can say “Eureka!”
Quality bonding time
What better way to bond with your kiddos than by watching colorful reactions unfold or creating mini explosions together (the safe kind, of course)? Science experiments make for unforgettable family memories.
Now it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get down to business.
The Walking Water experiment
What you’ll need:
- 5 glasses
- Water
- 4 pieces of tissue or paper towel
- Food coloring (red, yellow, blue)
Instructions:
Fill 3 glasses with water almost to the top.
Add 6-7 drops of red, yellow and blue color respectively in each glass. Mix well.
Place the two empty glasses in between in the order shown in the picture.
Fold a tissue/piece of paper towel to form a one inch strip. Bend it to make a v-shape. Place half of it in one glass and half in another as shown in the picture.
Do the same till all the glasses are connected. Leave them like this for 30-60 minutes and come back to a surprise!
Explain the science behind it:
When you connect glasses of water with a piece of tissue or paper towel, something really cool happens!
This is because of a special property called “capillary action.” Capillary action is when liquids, like water, are able to move through tiny spaces, like the tiny gaps in the paper towel.
So, when you put the paper towel between the two glasses, water starts to climb up the paper towel because of capillary action. This happens because water molecules like to stick to each other and to other surfaces, like the fibers in the paper. This pulling force, called cohesion and adhesion, helps the water climb up the paper towel, even defying gravity, the force that usually pulls everything down.
As the water climbs up one side of the paper towel, it also starts to move down the other side, into the other glass. This is because water always tries to spread out and find a balance. So, the water level in both glasses starts to even out because the water from the first glass moves to the second glass through the paper towel.
So, thanks to capillary action and the properties of water, the water levels in both glasses become the same!
Isn’t that fascinating?
A second topic you can cover with this experiment is mixing colors. You probably don’t really need an explanation for that, so in short we talked about primary and secondary colors.
There are 3 primary colors: red, yellow and blue. When they combine with each other, they form secondary colors like orange and green in our case.
Happy experimenting!
If you’re looking for another fun experiment, try this one:
Learn about light refraction and have fun.
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