The Skittles experiment is a kid favorite and not just because it’s candy! Kids love watching the colors, creating patterns and predicting the outcome. The Skittles experiment is especially fun around Valentine’s Day, Halloween and Christmas, with the appropriate colors.

This experiment can be done with just warm water, but we recommend using cold and hot water as well. It’s best to set up three bowls and pour the water with different temperatures at the same time.

Materials

1. Skittles
2. Rimmed bowls or plates
3. Water – warm, cold and/ or hot

Instructions

1. Place Skittles in a circle around the edge of a bowl or plate.
2. Slowly pour warm water in the center of one bowl, cold in the second and hot in the third. Pour until the Skittles are about half covered with water.
3. If you are doing this experiment with cold or hot water, try to pour the water at the same time as the warm water.
4. Wait about 30 seconds.

Lessons

1. Counting. Have your child count the Skittles as he or she places them in the bowl.
2. Patterns. Have your child place the Skittles in the bowl in a pattern.
3. Science. Ask your child to observe what is happening in each bowl. What does he or she notice? The colder the water, the slower the colors should appear. The dye and the sugar dissolve into the water. The colors should stay in their own row because each color has a different chemical makeup.

Vocabulary

1. Observe: to watch carefully.
2. Dissolve: to become part of a liquid.