If your kids love skittles as much as mine do, this experiment is a must do! Your little chemist will study and learn about diffusion! While they are at it, they can also experiment and make some fun art!
What do your need:
Skittles, warm water, and a plate
Optional: Straw, toothpick
What to do:
- Lay out your skittles into pattern of your choice on a plate. (We placed our first set into a circle.)
- Pour warm water in the middle of the plate until the water has half way covered the skittles.
- Wait and watch!
Make it more fun:
Make fun swirls by blowing air through a straw or use a toothpick to create a new pattern as the colorants and sugars dissolve!
How does it work?
Particles and atoms like to spread out and take up space. Solutions like to be balanced as well. When water is added to the skittles (solution), the colorants and sugars want to take up more space or spread out to be more balanced. The skittles begin to dissolve. The outer layer (with the colorant) dissolves first and creates a beautiful rainbow of colors in the water! This process is called diffusion.
Test this experiment out at home with different arrangement of skittles and send me your photos! I’d love to see all the creations you come up with! Send them to me on my social media pages or email them to me at momgineeringthefuture@gmail.com.
Kristen
