We love trying out easy science experiements for kids and this walking water experiment is definitely easy. I love that you don't have to wait long for this water experiment to start working as we all know that little children like things to happen instantly!
The rainbow created at the end of the walking water experiment looks really effective and could link to lots of other fun rainbow projects for kids. We have a whole collection of rainbow crafts and activities that might be of interest.
If you enjoy doing this science project and are looking for more easy science experiments for preschoolers. I'd recommend trying the rainbow science experiments for kids:
MORE science experiments for kids
MORE SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS FOR KIDS
SCROLL DOWN FOR RAINBOW WALKING WATER SCIENCE EXPERIMENT WORKSHEET
Below you will find step-by-step instructions for the rainbow walking water science experiment. Toddlers and preschoolers will be amazed as coloured water seems to travel along the paper towels and into the empty pots like magic!
Older children can get involved in making predcitions about what might happen to the water in the experiment and they can think about the different colours that will be created as the primary coloured waters mix together.
Supplies for the walking water experiment
- 6 small transparent jars or cups
- Paper towels / kitchen roll
- Liquid watercolour / food colouring
- Water
Walking Water Science Experiment
STEP 1: Get your supplies ready
Before beginning this walking water science experiment make sure that you have all the supplies that you will need to hand. For this experiment, it is handy to have all the supplies set up on one tray so that it is easy for the kids to independently get what they need. Setting the experiment up on a tray means that it can easily be transported if you need to move it overnight too.
STEP 2: Prepare the jars with coloured water
Once you have all your supplies to hand the first thing that you will need to do is prepare the jars. Children of preschool age upwards will enjoy doing this part of the experiment with a little help.
Take 3 jars and fill them with water. I gave Daisy (aged 3) a jug of water so that she could easily pour the water into the jars independently.
Once the jars are about three quarters full add a few drops of liquid watercolour (or food colouring). You will need to add red, blue and yellow colouring to the jars (see image below).
STEP 3: Place the jars in a circle
You will now have 3 jars full of coloured water and 3 empty jars. Place all the jars into a circle and alternate them so you have a jar with coloured water and then an empty one.
Whist it wasn't a planned part of the experiment Daisy found it fascinating looking at the light shining through the coloured water. She excitedly pointed out the colour that was shining onto our white tray.
STEP 4: Predict what will happen
Before you add the paper towels to the coloured water to complete the walking water experiment you might want to take a few minutes to predict what might happen. Tell your child that you will be adding paper towels to the coloured water and ask them what they think will happen? This is a great time to talk about colour mixing and for children to think about what will happen when the primary colours combine.
We have created a walking water printable that you could use to predict which colours you think will appear in the empty jars. This is great for children learning about colour mixing. Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the free rainbow walking water printable in PDF format. We have 2 versions of the printable, one with the UK spelling colour and one with the US spelling color. Children can simply colour the empty jar in the colour they think it will turn.
STEP 5: Add paper towels
We are nearly at the exciting part of this water science project! Take 6 paper towels. Fold each paper towel in half and then in half again so you have created a long strip. Then dip each paper towel strip into one of the colours and the connecting empty jar (see image below).
STEP 6: Watch the coloured water walk along the paper towels to create a rainbow!
This is the bit we have been waiting for! Watch closely to see the coloured water being absorbed by the paper towels. It is really amazing to watch and to toddlers and younger preschoolers it will seem like magic!
The coloured water starts travelling up the paper towels quite quickly and before long you can see the colour starting to go down the paper towels towards the empty jars. After a while the empty jars will start filling with coloured water.
If you leave the walking rainbow overnight you will find that in the morning all the jars are filled with coloured water. The primary colours mix to make secondary colours and you can see where the colours have travelled by looking at the paper towels.
It is so much fun to watch the water transferring between the jars, even for adults! Once the rainbow walking water experiment is complete it is fun to put the jars in a row so you can see all the colours together. The resulting rainbow is beautiful!
DOWNLOAD THE FREE RAINBOW WALKING WATER PRINTABLE WORKSHEET BELOW
For personal use only. Not for redistribution. All images are copyrighted. When sharing this printable please link directly to this blog post and not to the PDF. Thank you.
get the printable worksheet
We hope that you have as much fun with this walking water science experiment as we have! Making a walking rainbow is the perfect science project for kids as it's really easy to set up with very few supplies needed, and the results are AMAZING!
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