Capillary Action Experiment: Daisies and Food Colouring

Well, the picture kind of says it all on this one (a capillary action experiment for kids to try at home).

How to Change the Colour of Daisies Using Capillary Action

First you will need a couple of white daisies (ones that have just bloomed are a bit better than ‘old’ daisies). Then, grab a couple of glasses, some water, and some food colouring.

Pop a couple of drops of food colouring into the water (see above–we used quite a few drops) and then place the daisies in the water. If it has been awhile since you picked the daisies, you might want to trim the ends of the stems so it can suck up the water a bit better. (The ends of the stems heal over time making it difficult for them to ‘drink.’)

Now… you just have to wait, wait, wait while capillary action sucks the coloured water up through the stems and into the petals–changing their colours. That’s a fun capillary action experiment for the kids that is super easy!

Have you tried any capillary action experiments? What did you do? Did it work? Share your experiments or thoughts in the comment section.

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How to change the colour of a daisy. A fun and easy capillary action science experiment for kids. http://t.co/YRwAPHcz

— Jean Oram (@KidsPlay) August 7, 2012

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