4th of July Skittles Science Experiment

Let me tell you how we love to celebrate the holidays around here! We do it with science, STEM, and slime. Adding holiday theme colors brightens up even the simplest of science, and this patriotic 4th of July skittles science experiment is no exception. Homemade science is the best and this is a great science activity for home or classroom.

PATRIOTIC SKITTLES SCIENCE EXPERIMENT FOR KIDS!

If you haven’t tried the original skittle science activity that you can see here, it’s a must try too! For a fun twist on any patriotic holiday, you can try this take on a classic science experiment.

This patriotic or 4th of July skittles science experiment is a cool way to add a little science to your Patriot’s Day, Memorial Day, or 4th of July holiday weekend! More 4th science to see here too.

CHECK OUT THE VIDEO!

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Now that you have seen the skittles in action, it’s time to try it for yourself!

PATRIOTIC SKITTLES SCIENCE EXPERIMENT SET UP

Just a few simple supplies and you are on your way to a cool science experiment! Candy science is always exciting for kids especially when you give a taste test first!

You can also enjoy this skittles science activity with a bag of original color skittles too (here).

Give your kids a chance to ask questions, make observations, and explore. Why not test the 5 senses and encourage them to look, listen, feel, taste, and maybe hear what’s happening.

Ask open ended questions to get kids thinking! What changes could they make to this experiment?

SUPPLIES

1 Bag of Skittles (Patriotic theme package with red, white, and blue colored candies)

12 Cup of Warm Water

White Plate

NEW! Grab your FREE Printable Science Experiments Below!

SKITTLES SCIENCE SET UP

Start by setting your white plate on a flat surface.

Next you want to open the Skittles American Mix and sort out the light blue. You will only need about 1/3rd of the bag.

Go ahead and arrange the Skittles in a striped pattern. You can group like colors to create red, white, and blue stripes. Of course, kids can make their own patterns including a flag or stars. Have fun and get creative. Turn it into STEM+Art for STEAM!

Let your kids slowly add ½ cup of warm water. Make sure to pour it onto the plate and not directly onto the skittles. SLOWLY!

Sit back and get ready to watch your American pride expand with awesome red, white, and blue stripes!

You’ve just completed your patriotic skittles science experiment. How can you change the variable to make it more of a science experiment and less of a demonstration? Ask your kids what else can they test, temperature of water, type of candy?

4TH OF JULY SKITTLES SCIENCE EXPERIMENT INFORMATION

Skittles are made of ingredients that are prone to dissolve in water. They also do it quickly, so you have neat science right away. Candy dissolving science is fun to test out with a variety of liquids and candies. Different candies dissolve at different rates. Dissolving gum drops also make a colorful science experiment.

Why don’t the colors mix right away? While digging around for information, I learned about a term called stratification. The immediate definition of stratification is the arrangement of something into different groups which is a lot like we see with the skittle colors, but why?

Water stratification is all about how water has different masses with different properties and this may create the barriers that you see among the colors of the candies.

Still other sources talk about how each skittle has the same amount of food coloring being dissolved and as they concentration of this color spreads out similarly they don’t mix when they meet up with each other. You can read about this concentration gradient here.

TEST MORE IDEAS!

Test out Warm Water vs. Cold Water

Try a variety of liquids

Make sure to see more awesome 4th or Patriotic theme STEM and Science Ideas below!