Walking water

The walking water experiment is a popular science activity that demonstrates capillary action and colour mixing. Water "walks" from one glass to another via paper towels, seemingly defying gravity, and mixes to form new colours in the process.

Materials Needed:

7 clear glasses

Water

Red, blue and yellow (primary colours) food colouring

Paper towels

A string spoon

Step by steps instructions:

First, arrange the 7 glasses into a line.

Then put water into the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th glasses.

Add several drops of food colouring to each glass with water. For the rainbow, use red in the 1st and 7th glass, yellow in the 3rd, and blue in the 5th. Stir the water to mix the colour evenly.

Leave the 2nd, 4th & 6th glasses empty.

Fold the paper towel lengthwise into narrow strips.

Place one end of the paper towel strips into a glass of coloured water and the other end into an empty glass.

Continue this process to create bridges between all the glass.

Watch the water begin to travel up the paper towel immediately. Check back every so often over several hours. The water levels eventually equalise in all the glasses, and the empty glasses will be filled with a new colour.

Walking water

The walking water experiment is a popular science activity that demonstrates capillary action and colour mixing. Water "walks" from one glass to another via paper towels, seemingly defying gravity, and mixes to form new colours in the process.

Materials Needed:

7 clear glasses

Water

Red, blue and yellow (primary colours) food colouring

Paper towels

A string spoon

Step by steps instructions:

First, arrange the 7 glasses into a line.

Then put water into the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th glasses.

Add several drops of food colouring to each glass with water. For the rainbow, use red in the 1st and 7th glass, yellow in the 3rd, and blue in the 5th. Stir the water to mix the colour evenly.

Leave the 2nd, 4th & 6th glasses empty.

Fold the paper towel lengthwise into narrow strips.

Place one end of the paper towel strips into a glass of coloured water and the other end into an empty glass.

Continue this process to create bridges between all the glass.

Watch the water begin to travel up the paper towel immediately. Check back every so often over several hours. The water levels eventually equalise in all the glasses, and the empty glasses will be filled with a new colour.