Rain Cloud Rainbows

Materials

· Water (not included)

· Latex Free Gloves

· Apron

· 3 Plastic Bowls

· Yellow Food Coloring

· Blue Food Coloring

· Red Food Coloring

· 4 Soft Paper Towels

· Plastic 8oz Cup

· Shaving Cream

· Pipette

Procedure

1. Wear the provided gloves and apron for the duration of this activity to prevent stains from the food coloring. Work on a tray or a hard surface that is easy to clean.

2. Fill each of the bowls almost all the way with water, and place them very close to one another (either in a row or a triangle).

3. Pour the red food coloring into one bowl, pour the yellow food coloring into the next bowl, and pour the blue food coloring into the final bowl. If the food coloring will not come out of the vials, use the pipette.

4. Fold each of the paper towels into shapes and patterns that are big enough to reach between two or all three of the bowls.

5. Place the paper towels in the bowls with parts of each paper towel touching at least two of the three colors of water. Wait for a few minutes. What do you notice?

6. Now, add water to the 8 ounce cup. Use the measurements on the side to add about 5-6 ounces.

7. Add shaving cream to the cup—it will float on top of the water. Cover the entire surface of the water. The shaving cream represents a cloud.

8. Use the pipette to drop different colors of water on top of the cloud. The colorful drops represent rain. Count how many drops you can add until the rain drops fall through. Why do the drops fall through after adding a certain amount?

Science Behind it!

The primary colors are red, yellow, and blue. These can be mixed together to make other colors, otherwise known as secondary colors. What happen when you mix red and yellow? You get orange! The other two secondary colors are when you mix red and blue and when you mix blue and yellow? You have done the experiment and so now you can answer this question.

A rainbow is formed when white light is bent (refracted) while entering through a droplet of water. This is then split into different colors and then reflected back. Fun fact! White light is actually all of the colors in the universe. A rainbow is a circle and goes all the way through the ground, but the part in the ground is hidden. A rainbow can be seen when there are drops of water in the air and the sun is shining from the back at it through the person watching this rainbow occur. When a rain storm is happening, the clouds are so heavy, it cannot hold the water anymore so the precipitation needs to be released from the cloud, making it a happy cloud once more. Water is fascinating, what other fun facts can you find out about water?