Materials
Paper towels
scissors
shallow tray of water
different colored water-based markers, one for each child
Instructions
1. Cut paper towels into 1"-wide strips. Give one strip to each child.
2. Ask the children to use their marker to draw a wide stripe across the narrow
width of their paper towel strip. The stripe should be approximately 1" from
one end of the paper towel.
3. Ask the children what primary colors they think make up their color. (The
primary colors are red, yellow, and blue.)
4. Making sure the ink part stays out of the water, place the drawn end of the
paper towels in the tray. Lay the other end of the towels outside the tray.
5. As the water travels along the paper towel, it will dilute the ink and separate
the primary colors. Wait and see which colors split and which don't.
More to do
Using paper towels and food coloring, reverse the experiment. Place drops of
different colors of food coloring close together on the paper towel. Watch to see
which colors they make when they merge.
