Click here to read Walking Water Science Experiment – And Expert Tips on Hands On As We Grow®
Today, I want to share this walking water experiment — which I’ve wanted to with my kids for ages.
We just love simple science experiments in our house!
I’ve tried it a little bit here and there without much success.
This time we made sure to find out what wasn’t working and why.
Of course, we added in a little learning into the fun by mixing colors in the process!
My kids were super excited to see what colors we would make.
To Do This Walking Water Experiment You’ll Need:
- paper towels (the cheaper, less absorbent the better; toilet paper works too.)
- 3 clear jars or glasses.
- water
- food coloring (use two primary colors to learn about color mixing)
How to Set Up a Walking Water Experiment with Your Kids
Fill two of the jars full with water.
Add in food coloring to each jar.
We added red and blue.
Fold a paper towel in half multiple times to make a long skinny strip (about an inch or so wide).
Dip one end of the paper towel strip into the jar filled with colored water and lay it over the edge of the jar and placed to drip into the jar that’s still empty.
Tip: Check out the expert tips at the end to speed up the water walking process of your experiment for younger kids!
A Walking Water Experiment for the Kids To Explore Mixing Colors!
(Plus tips to make it work!)
I learned from Megan of Coffee Cups and Crayons the perfect solution for a walking water experiment.
The absorbency of the paper towel plays a major factor in how long it takes.
Her solution takes a couple of minutes for the water creeping its way over to the empty jar.
My solution, on the other hand, took 20 minutes for the water to travel to the top of the first jar!
And well over an hour to see any drips into the empty jar.
We eventually tried toilet paper and had some better luck with it.
The water walked much faster than with the paper towels, but still not nearly as fast as Megan’s did.
The absorbency of the paper plays a big part.
The boys were shocked when we came back later that day to check on the progress of their walking water experiment.
The water had completely mixed into the middle jar!
What color did red and blue create?
Purple!
Tips for Making Water Walk Faster:
Use these well tested tips to speed up your walking water experiment. Especially if you’re doing it with toddlers!
- At first we tried ripping the towels into strips, but it didn’t soak up nearly as fast.
- Fill the jars as full as possible. The water will not have to move up as much before letting gravity do its job.
- Use thinner, cheaper paper towels. The less the paper towels absorb, the better. Even fast food napkins would due the trick!
- Prop up the filled jars on books to make them higher than the destination jar. Gravity will help move it along faster.
Another super fun and simple color moving and mixing experiment to try is this Milk Experiment!
What colors did you choose to mix for this exciting science experiment?
Tell us all about it and any tips you have learned in the comments!
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