Discover the colors of the rainbow by mixing primary colors. Kids problem solve, learn math, science, and art all in one activity. 

What You Need: 

• Several clear cups and containers 
• Water 
• Food coloring or liquid watercolor paint 
• Pipettes, spoons, eye droppers (something you can move water with) 

What You Do: 

1. Fill 3 containers ½ way with water. 
2. Make each container a primary color by adding yellow, red, and blue food color or paint to a container. 
3. You’re ready to mix!  Use the empty containers to mix the colored water.   
4. Once the water is to mixed up, dump it out and start again. 
5. Experiment, make new colors, or create a rainbow. 

Words to Use: 

• Rainbow: different colors that can appear in the sky when there is both sun and rain 
• Primary Colors: one of the three colors red, yellow, and blue, which you can mix together to make any of the other colors 
• Mix: if you mix two or more substances they combine to become a single substance 
• Hue: a type of color, like a shade or a tint 

What to Talk About: 

• What are primary colors?  Do you really think they can mix to create any color?  Let’s try it! 
• What are the colors in the rainbow?  Notice the primary colors have the colors they make beside them on the rainbow. 
• Try measure and record how you make an exact color.  Can you add more of one color and get a different hue?  How of about less than?  How much of each color did it take? 
• If you mix the same colors again, do you think the same thing will happen?  Why?  What happened? 

Change It Up:  

• Go on a color hunt.  Paint or color the primary colors and the colors you made on to a piece of paper. Take a walk around the house or in the neighborhood and look for your colors. 
• Make a rainbow!  Using paints, paint a rainbow using only primary colors. 
• Create a color wheel.  Similar to a rainbow, a color wheel in a circle with the primary colors evenly spaced.  You can mix primary colors and paint the result between the two primary colors on the wheel.  The wheel can have as may colors as you like.  

Learning Connections:  

• Problem Solving 
• Curiosity 
• STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) 
• Fine Motor Development 
• Nature Exploration 
• Using Tools 

Curriculum Connections: NC Standard Course of Study