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STEM Activities for Kids- STEAMsational

Science experiments and STEM activities for kids!

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in STEM Activities

Rainbow Flowers Capillary Action Experiment

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Learn about how plants drink water with capillary action in this super-fun capillary action experiment! Kids of all ages will love it! It’s the perfect addition to your spring STEM activities!

Rainbows are totally amazing, and so are flowers. Combine them in this super-fun color-changing flowers science experiment for kids. This would make a super fun St. Patrick’s Day STEM activity! 

Learn about how plants drink water with capillary action in this super-fun rainbow color changing flowers experiment! Kids of all ages will love it!

You’ll also want to check out the ultimate list of summer STEM activities and the ultimate list of summer science experiments. 

Related: More Rainbow Science Experiments

rainbow flowers experiment

The Science: Capillary Action for Kids

steam challenge cards

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you for your convenience. 

rainbow flower science project

What you’ll need for the flower dye science project:

  • White flowers (carnations are best)
  • Liquid food coloring (we order from Amazon because it can be hard to find the right kind in stores)
  • 6 mason jars

How to do the Color Changing Flowers Science Project

color changing flowers experiment

Fill each jar with about 6 ounces of water. Place one color of the rainbow in each jar. We used just about a full container of liquid dye in each container to get the colors we did, but we did have too much water to begin with. Start with about half a container of dye and go from there.

Learn about how plants drink water with capillary action in this super-fun rainbow color changing flowers experiment! Kids of all ages will love it!

Cut each white flower stem at an angle and place in the water.

Learn about how plants drink water with capillary action in this super-fun rainbow color changing flowers experiment! Kids of all ages will love it!

Put your flowers in a sunny place, and wait!

Within 3 days you should see distinct colors start to emerge. Keep your flowers in the colored water until they start to wilt for maximum color absorption.

Learn about how plants drink water with capillary action in this super-fun rainbow color changing flowers experiment! Kids of all ages will love it!

Pro tip: If your flowers don’t appear to be changing color within 3 days or so, you probably are A, using a less-than-ideal type of flower like we were (carnations are best, turns out), or B, didn’t put enough dye in the jars. To get our flowers to change color, we had to use nearly a whole bottle of liquid dye per jar.

Learn about how plants drink water with capillary action in this super-fun rainbow color changing flowers experiment! Kids of all ages will love it!

The type of dye also matters. We tried gel food coloring first, but it wasn’t strong enough to dye the flowers.

Colored Flowers Capillary Action Science Experiment

capillary action flower experiment

The reason flowers change color has to do with how they soak up water. All plants require water to survive, but they drink it from the ground. So, to move it from the ground to the leaves, plants use what is called “capillary action” to move the liquid to the top of the plant.

Basically, this happens by water evaporating in the leaves, causing a pressure change in the stem that helps the liquid from the roots rise to the surface.

In this experiment, you can see it happen because the flowers will gradually change color!

But not always like you think. Our flowers changed color at the very tips first!

Learn about how plants drink water with capillary action in this super-fun capillary action experiment! Kids of all ages will love it! It's the perfect addition to your spring STEM activities!

More Rainbow Science for Kids

If you want to try STEM activities for toddlers and preschoolers, start with easy, fun things! These fizzing rainbows fit the bill perfectly and are easy!

Fizzing Rainbows Experiment for Toddlers

Nothing says happy like a pretty rainbow. And this amazing rainbow slime will be a HUGE hit in your science classroom, or just at home!

Rainbow Slime

St. Patrick's Day doesn't have to be just about crafts! Bring some STEM to the holiday with these hands on St. Patrick's Day STEM activities for kids!

Walking Rainbow

steam challenge cards

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Filed Under: STEM Activities

About Brenda Priddy

Brenda grew up thinking she hated science.

But when her 4-year- old daughter was more interested in reading science facts than fairy tales, Brenda realized she had to learn more about science to keep up with her daughter.

Through simple at-home science experiments, Brenda developed a passion for science and now acts as an advocate for STEM education for kids at her website STEAMsational.com.

« Rainbow Bead Sensory Slime for Preschool
Fun Pi Day Activities for Kids (beyond making pie) »

What is STEAM?

STEAM activities for kids promote the idea that science, technology, engineering, art, and math can all work together to help kids become critical thinkers, problem solvers, and innovators!

Join us on our journey to discover just how much fun science experiments can be.

What we do… 

STEAMsational offers STEM and science lesson plans and teaching resources to provide a firm STEM foundation for children in the classroom or home.

All you need to do is find your supplies, gather your scientists, and let the innovation unfold.

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