Skittles rainbow experiment
My four year old is a bit obsessed with rainbows recently, I think it started with us supporting the NHS by filling our windows with pictures of rainbows at the start of the pandemic! This skittles activity is a great, quick activity that will entertain them and teach them a bit about science at the same time.
What you need:
- Some skittles
- A plate – I find a round plate works best
- Boiling hot water
What to do:
Arrange the skittles all around the edges of your bowl, so they are all touching and forming a circle. This works best if you don’t have the same colours touching each other. Boil your kettle then pour the boiling water over the top of the skittles (Please make sure you warn the children that the water will be very hot and ensure they are well away from the water as you pour). Now, sit back and watch as the skittles melt and the colours run into the middle, causing a rainbow effect.
You can add on to this activity by getting your child to arrange the skittles on the plate beforehand. You can encourage them to create their own pattern, where they will learn about how to make predictions, logical connections and reasoning skills. For younger children you can get them to talk about the different colour names which will be great for their colour recognition.
Have fun
Cover photo by By taidundua on Canva
