Children love to make explosions or watch things react to form bubbles. This invitation explores erupting rainbows two ways.
For the first invitation you can place liquid water colors at the bottom of a clear cup and fill it up with vinegar. Then you have the child sprinkle baking soda into each cup to create the chemical reaction.
The second invitation is frozen baking soda mixed with liquid water colors and water. You provide the child with droppers and vinegar. They squirt the molds with vinegar to create the reaction.
Before or after you can discuss all the colors and predict what may happen. This gives them the opportunity to explore their environments as they learn about cause and effect, cycles of nature, the ability to make comparisons, chemical and physical reactions and exposure to the properties of matter.
Through these types of activities children build a foundation for future scientific learning. As curiosity builds, children learn to be patient with projects that take time and how to make decisions based on the data that they gather. Developing this ability to understand the likeness and differences between things builds a science base as well as a skill for future math and reading skills.