This fun science activity introduces basic concepts of physics and gravity. With a just a few ingredients, your child will be able to see water “walk” up paper towels then down into an empty jar.
Before You Play
Tell your child that you are going to perform an experiment that will cause water to “walk” up paper towels. To help her grasp this concept, ask him what happens when he wipes up a spill with a paper towel. Talk about how liquid gets sucked up into or absorbed by the paper towel’s fibers.
Materials
Directions
1
Have your child fill up two of the jars with water. Add food coloring to the two jars.
2
Place the empty jar in between the two jars that are filled with colored water. For the best results, put each outside jar on top of a book that is equal in thickness. Ask your child if he knows what gravity is? If he gets stuck, explain that gravity is a force that pulls objects toward each other. In this experiment, gravity will help move the water along faster into the empty jar.
3
Help your child fold a paper towel in half multiple times to make a long skinny strip that’s about an inch wide. Do it again with another paper towel.
4
Ask him to dip one end of one paper towel strip into a jar filled with colored water and lay the other end of the strip into the empty jar. Repeat this with the second paper towel strip. The dry portions of the two paper towels should now meet in the middle jar.
5
Ask your child, “How long do you think it will take before the water walks?” And, “What color do you think the water will be when it fills the middle jar?” Talk about how color pigments mix together to form other colors. For example, blue and red make purple.
6
It may take a few minutes or more, before the water mixes into the middle jar! Was your child’s prediction about how long the process would take correct? Have him describe what he sees.
Note: The absorbency of the paper towel plays a major factor in how long it takes; the less absorbent the better. Check out this blog post from Megan of Coffee Cups and Crayons for another walking water experiment.
Jamie Reimer learned to be a hands-on mom by creating activities, crafts, and art projects for her three boys to do. She shares them on Hands on As We Grow. Jamie is taking this creative outlet as a way to get through the early years of parenting with a smile!
