Simple Experiment for Kids: Scented Color Mixing

This simple experiment for kids checks so many boxes. It will fit on the list of both science experiments for kids at home or at school. It also incorporates sensory play, art, color theory, and more! Keep reading to see if it’s a good fit for your classroom!

Girly Girl and Engineer wanted a “fun experiment” to do while Little Hurricane was napping (and it was raining yet again). So I grabbed a few items already in my kitchen and set it up. I called it a secret experiment, so they weren’t allowed into the kitchen until it was all set up. I think making it mysterious made them even more excited to try it out! 🙂

Being a quick kitchen experiment, I didn’t want to use too many materials. So, I kept it simple as I was picking out materials for the experiment. Here’s what you’ll need (I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post):

Baking soda
Jell-O powder (at least two different types)
Water
Large glass dish or flat plastic bin
Mixing bowls
Plastic syringes
Plastic eye droppers

I placed a thin layer of baking soda in the bottom of a glass pan. Then I placed alternating lines of cherry and lemon Jell-O powder on top. I covered everything over with another layer of baking soda — just enough to hide the colors. Then I filled two glass bowls with water, setting the bowls out alongside plastic syringes and eyedroppers. Once that was all set up, I called the kiddos over.

In case you’re wondering, I chose water instead of vinegar for two reasons — (1) I wanted the activity to focus more on colors, and (2) I wanted to see if there would be any reaction without the vinegar. Jell-O powders have some acids in them, so I thought there might be a slight reaction.

The kids came into the kitchen and got right to “work”. They loved using the syringes, and they were very interested to see what the mystery was. At first, both kids were surprised when they saw colors beginning to shine through the baking soda. Engineer, who’s used to my tricks, figured it out pretty quickly. Once the cherry and lemon scents became obvious, he yelled, “There’s Jell-O in here, isn’t there, Mama?!” I admitted that’s what I’d done, but encouraged them to keep going.

After a bit more water was added, Girly Girl noted that the colors had started to mix together. “Hey! It’s making it all orange!” From there, they were quick to add more water and mixed most of the colors together. They also grabbed the rest of the Jell-O powders to see if they could make the colors stronger.

As the kids were mixing everything up, Engineer noticed that there was a weird noise coming from the pan. “Mama, it’s fizzing! And I see bubbles!” He went on to smell the water, checking to see if it was vinegar. After that, he took a closer look at the bubbles. The reaction wasn’t nearly as strong as vinegar and baking soda, but there was still a reaction. In fact, the bubbling noise was a bit stronger, even if the bubbles themselves were a lot weaker.

Once everything was mixed together, Engineer and Girly Girl enjoyed just playing around with the mixture. They ran their hands through the mixture, measured it, and kept using the syringes to transfer it between bowls. The kids enjoyed themselves for about an hour and half with this simple sensory experiment.

Have you ever done simple experiments or activities that were a big hit? I’d love to hear about them! 🙂

Shared at Share It Saturday, After School Link Up

Done-for-You Preschool Resources

Planning meaningful lessons for students week after week while balancing other teaching responsibilities and a personal life can be a daunting task. That’s where Preschool Teacher 101 comes in to save you time!

Preschool Teacher 101 has created some amazing preschool lesson and activity plans that will be perfect for your classroom. Click on the images below to learn more about some of our great STEM resources.