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Coffee filter flowers are so incredibly easy, but there is so much science behind it!<\/p>\n

This one is great for both toddlers and preschoolers. You can teach them different concepts based on age level.<\/p>\n

For Finn, we worked on holding the dabber correctly and identifying colors. Everett on the other hand, got quite the lesson! In addition to color identification, I also taught him chromatography and capillary actions.<\/p>\n

Chromatography is essentially a separation of a mixture- in this case the color marker separating using a thin piece of paper ie the coffee filter. We talked about color mixing (building on our previous activity) and how it sometimes takes multiple colors mixing together to make what appears to be a solid color (like black). We started off with single colors and worked up from there.<\/p>\n

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When the colors were separating I brought up capillary action. Everett is already familiar with parts of human anatomy, so he knew capillaries were a type of blood vessels. I showed him how the colored water traveled through the coffee filter like how blood travels through our body. He thought that part was the coolest!<\/p>\n

Supplies & Directions:<\/strong><\/u><\/p>\n

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*Pro tip: place something under the coffee filters. The filters are thin so color will leak through to whatever is under!*<\/strong><\/p>\n

Start off with drawing a single circle around the base of the filter. You can either fold it 4 times and place the colored tip in shot glass or use a water bottle and spray the colored center. Both methods work well, I opted for the spray bottle because Finn was joining us and having that many glass shot glasses with 2 small children was a dicey idea.<\/p>\n

After the kids watch the colors separate and climb the filter, place them up to dry. Once dry, fold them 2-4 times and wrap a pipe cleaner around the base. Fluff it up a bit and you’ll have a beautiful flower.<\/p>\n

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After the singular colors, the kids wanted to dab all kinds of crazy colors on the filters to see what would happen. The results weren’t as dramatic, but the kids still had a blast!<\/p>\n