Rainbow Colors Science Activity

Besides for our colorful explosions activity, this science activity was the next favorite.  We called it our "rainbow colors" since it was so colorful.






Materials: clear container, water, shaving cream, and liquid food color(s)

To start, fill up a clear container (we used the shoebox size Rubbermaid containers and small Tupperware containers) almost to the top with water. Then on top of the water spray a layer of shaving cream.

Then drip a few drops of food coloring on top of the shaving cream.

The food coloring will seep through the shaving cream at different rates. When the food coloring reaches the water it sinks and then starts to spread out.

It is fun to watch as more colors start mixing into the water.

This one was like a tornado as it mixed in the water. We had put the food coloring on the side of the container.

After awhile the colors mixed all together, but it was fun (and pretty) to watch.

Check out our rainbow craft that we made.

Fun Rainbow Craft!

During our rainbow and colors unit we made this cute rainbow craft! This pin inspired this craft project and I was impressed with how well my class was able to do this on their own. We did have a few rainbows that were a little squashed due to trying to glue down the edges but overall they did a great job.




I cut a piece of black construction paper in thirds for students to use as the base to glue on their rainbow strips. I cut the rainbow strips out for the students prior to starting the project so that the the sizes would work for making the rainbow. I cut the red paper first and then did each color about 1/2 inch shorter than the previous color.

To put it together you fold the edges and apply the glue so that the folded part (like a flap) is what you are gluing onto the black paper. You need to start with the purple (or whatever color you are using for the bottom layer of your rainbow).

I would recommend holding the flaps down for a moment to make sure that they stick. We did our flaps on top of each other as much as possible so that it was easier to make them stick on the paper. Once we had all of the layers on we did set something on a few of the edges to make sure that they would stay down.

finished rainbow

Our finished rainbows made a nice colorful display beneath our bulletin board showcasing where we had practiced writing our color words.

Colorful Explosions!

As part of our colors and rainbows unit, we did colorful explosions! I did this last summer, and still had the pictures hanging up in our science center and the kids have been asking when were we going to do it this summer. We used baking soda, vinegar, food coloring, glitter and bowls. I set the bowls in the top of a large rubber maid container to help catch the explosion. 

Next I got our cupcake container, which we usually use for sorting, so that each student could do their own explosion. We put the baking soda in a couple of the containers and then each student was able to pick which color they wanted to mix in with their vinegar. 

 

The cupcake container was great because it helped to contain the mess plus it was the perfect size for small explosions! If you are going to do this with a group of students it was so much easier than when we used bowls last summer, plus less mess to clean up. 

Colorful Mystery Word Art

We have started our science exploration for the summer! To start off with, we are focusing on colors and rainbows. Our first project is mystery words (and pictures) art. I premade a few sheets by writing sight words (using a white crayon) on white construction paper. I explained that I had written color words on the white paper using a white crayons. I asked the class how could we see what was on the paper? The students suggested using our "paint markers" since we knew from previous experience that the color from these markers would not stick to the crayon. Students could only color a part of the paper and had to guess what word/words was on their paper before they could color all of it to see if they were correct.

getting started

Afterwards a few of the students decided they wanted to draw mystery pictures for their friends to color. This was an interesting (and had a few frustrating moments) experience since they quickly realized they could not see what they were drawing.

one of the "mystery" pictures

rainbow

swirl

They did a great job though (once they figured out a few tricks). One student had a friend helping her and kept on having her friend put her finger on the paper so that she would know where she had just drawn. Another friend kept rubbing their fingers across the paper because they realized they could feel where they had drawn with the crayon.

This was a fun project. They enjoyed trying to guess the words on their paper and were laughing at their friends (sometimes crazy) guesses.