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Here is an old favorite from my chemistry lesson days.

" Simple Chromatography "

This is an extremely easy and very safe experiment for children of all ages and requires minimal supervision so the child can really feel that they have done the experiment all by themselves. Be careful not to have your best table cloth out at the time as this task does have the potential to be quite messy.

The basic point of the experiment is to separate the different component colors which make up ink. Black and blue inks often have some surprising results but any colors are worth trying.Thick black Indian ink should be avoided but most writing inks will work satisfactorily.

What You Need:

1. Some sheets of strong but highly absorbent paper (blotting paper from a stationary department would be the most obvious choice)
2. Various different types and colors of ink (check that it is non toxic)
3. A pipette or dropper for each color and one spare
4. A cup of water

What to do;

Take a piece of blotting paper and place on a waterproof table cover (or old magazine would do as well)
Next use the dropper to put a few spots of ink spaced out on the blotting paper.
Allow these to absorb so they are not very wet to touch.
Then before the spots have become too dry (10 to 20 seconds is usually fine for blotting paper)use the spare dropper to put a generous drop of water into the center of each ink spot.
Now watch as all the component colors in the ink fan out across the paper producing a color spectrum.
Repeat the above steps with different inks to create multicolored patterns and pictures.

This is quite a relaxing way to pass an hour of so on a rainy day and usually entertains the adults as well as the children.

Learn more about this author, Ruth Heeks.
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