Art Meets Science: Colourful Experiments for Preschoolers
Jess @learnandbloom | March 09, 2022
Welcome to the Oskar's Wooden Ark Colour Lab! Are you looking for fun and simple science activities to impress your kids?
Jess, Mum of four boys and Play Extraordinaire, is sharing TWO colourful experiments that have all the WOW factors, yet take very little time to set up. The best part? Both experiments use super simple household ingredients so you'll most likely have everything you need for them at home already! Jess has used our beautiful Stockmar Aquarelle Watercolours, but you could use food colouring instead.
Not only will your little ones get the chance to explore some fascinating scientific concepts in a hands-on way, but they will love getting creative with colour!
If you give these activities a go, then please share some pics with us on Facebook and Instagram, tagging @oskarswoodenark.
EXPERIMENT ONE: DIY Lava Lamps
Children will love exploring coloured water and oil, combined with a surprise ingredient to make lava erupt and blobs bubble! The DIY lava lamp is a science experiment that requires only a few ingredients, is quick to create and mesmerising to watch.
You will need:
• Water
• Vegetable Oil
• Alka-Seltzer Tablets
• Stockmar Aquarelle Watercolours
Step 1:
Mix Stockmar Aquarelle watercolours to make the desired colour in paint pots.
Step 2:
Fill clear jars with 1/3 coloured water and 2/3 oil.
Step 3:
Break the Alka-Seltzer tablets into pieces and pop it into the jar to watch it erupt!
EXPERIMENT TWO: Colourful Oobleck Art
Oobleck is such an interesting texture to explore. When you pick it up, it solidifies but acts like a liquid when left to run. It only uses two ingredients: cornstarch and water. We experimented with the texture and mixed colours using Stockmar Aquarelle watercolours.
You will need:
• Stockmar watercolours
• Tray
• Cornflour
• Water
• Droppers
Step 1:
Mix 1 cup water to 2 cups cornflour. Dilute the Stockmar watercolour paint with water using the Glass Jars with Wooden Paint Holder.
Step 2:
Use pipettes to drip paint onto your oobleck. We used old soy sauce fish packets as droppers.
Step 3:
Use a skewer to swirl the colours for a marbled look.
Step 4:
Add more Stockmar watercolour paint to colour the oobleck. We mixed blue and red to make purple.
Step 5:
Let oobleck dry to make clean up easier. Dried oobleck is fun to play with too!
