Fireworks in a Jar

Yesterday my daughter I set out to complete the Fireworks in a Jar science experiment.  This is a simple experiment involving water, oil, and food coloring.  Fill a jar 3/4 full of water.  Take another bowl and fill it with a few tablespoons of vegetable oil.  Then put a few drops of food coloring in the oil.  There are several things that happen that you can discuss with your child.

1.  Before the experiment you can show your child what happens when you put a drop or two of food coloring in water.  The food coloring quickly dissolves and the water changes color.

2.  Ask you child what happens when the food coloring is placed in oil?  Your child should notice that the food coloring drops remain as drops.  They do not dissolve.

3.  What happens when the oil is mixed with the water?  The food coloring dissolves in the water and the oil, due to a lower density, rises to the top.  This is clearly seen.

If you're child is anything like my daughter, he/she will be excited when the water turns color.  I think my daughter's favorite part of this experiment was watching the water quickly turn pink.  You can tell from the video she was excited.  In fact, she convinced me to do this experiment again with a different color.

This is a very simple experiment, but one that will excite younger children.