I was trying to dye carnations for a girl scouts’ meeting. It didn’t go well at first until I put my science lesson to use. This is actually a really neat activity to do with your kids. It will teach them how plants take in water…through the stem. This is unique in the sense that the kids will notice the carnations turning a different color because of the colored water that the flower takes in through its stem/root.
Items needed:
food coloring, white carnations and clear glass
Directions: Really simple.
- Fill a clear glass with water. You may use a plastic clear bottle. (about 1/2 or 3/4)
- Put about 8 drops into water. This will depend on how deep you want the color.
- Cut the stem of the white carnations.
- Place the white carnation into the colored water.
- Let stand for at least a day. (My troop was hoping that the change of color would take place in 1 hour.)
- After one day, examine the color. Wow! This is a great time to explain fully how plants take in water through their roots.
Great, I wondered if this really worked. I plan on doing this with my Sunday School class on Palm Sunday and then show the flowers on Easter Sunday.
That’s a good time frame because the color should really come in nicely by the time you show them to the class. Be sure to put in more dye or less dye to get a color that you like. Definitely let me know how they come out…
This is such a fun expirament for kids! Mine are a little young still, but I love the idea of doing this to coordinate with shower or party colors for decorations! Great post!
My daughter and I just attended a Mother/Daughter Tea and the different color carnations would have been perfect on the tables.
These look super easy and the results look really cute!
Thanks Britton. It’s definitely super easy and a great activity to do with the kids.
Awesome. You can color it whatever you want. Yay for science.
Yes. Yay for Science!
Cool idea.