The Walking Rainbow Experiment Free Resource – STEM Scholars Hub

This activity explores the movement of colored liquids through paper towels, providing students with hands-on insight into capillary action and diffusion. By using cups of colored water connected with paper towels, students observe how liquids travel through narrow spaces and how colors mix to form secondary colors, learning how molecules move from areas of high concentration to low concentration. This experiment highlights the behavior of liquids, solubility, and concentration, demonstrating how substances interact in a visually engaging way.

This topic is ideal for students, teachers, and parents/guardians to explore scientific principles of liquids and color mixing in a hands-on, engaging way. It is perfect for class demonstrations, small group experiments, homework, independent practice, or enrichment activities. Answer keys and supporting materials are provided for guided practice.

Blog about the topic is available on the STEM Blog page, and PDF downloadable resources are down below. PowerPoint presentations and reference videos are found on the PPT/Video page.