Absorb | Water | Movement | Experiment | Flow | Colour | Materials | Change

Preparation

Observe growing plants and trees and identify the different parts of the plant e.g. roots, stems or leaves. Talk about  how plants access water through its roots and how the plants transport water up to its leaves.

Equipment

• Three clear containers - glass jars or cups
• Water
• Two different colours of food colouring (blue and yellow work well)
• Kitchen paper

1. Add 3cm of water to two of the clear containers
2. Add blue food colouring to one cup and yellow to the other
3. Place the two containers of coloured water either side of an empty container
4. Fold a sheet of kitchen paper into a thin strip. Repeat this so that you have two folded pieces of kitchen paper
5. Fold each strip in half lengthways.These will be the ‘ladders’ for the coloured water
6. Ask your pupils to predict what will happen to the coloured water. How the water travels up the kitchen paper, what will happen to the water levels in each container and what will happen when the colours mix together in the middle container
7. Place one end of a strip in the blue colour and the other end in the empty container
8. Do the same in the yellow-coloured water
9. Pupils will then observe what happens and compare the results to their predictions

• Can all the coloured water ‘walk’ into the empty cup?
• Link into the Art & DT curriculum by making a 'rainbow' using the three primary colours red, yellow and blue - this will take seven clear containers (put the coloured water in alternate containers)
• Follow up this activity by placing cut white flowers in a container of coloured water. Leave for some time and observe the effect