Color Chart & Color Mixing

Although this project is quite structured, there is still plenty of room for kids to experiment and explore. (Even kids who are color blind enjoy playing with the eye droppers.)

Objectives

Children participating will be able to tell which primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) will mix to make a secondary color like orange, green and purple
they will be able to recognize that two colors mixed together make a new color
and match identical and familiar colors
Children ages 4-5 can label or point to primary colors Lang. IB

 

Materials

Red, yellow and blue food coloring in small squeeze bottles; pitcher of water; 6 petri dishes or clear containers; eye droppers; large color chart* for each child, a paper with a 6 sectioned circle for the kids themselves to color in; crayons and felt pens; butcher paper.
*SEE NOTE

Procedures

l. Arrange 6 petri dishes in a circle on a table. Let the children take turns pouring water into 3 alternating dishes. Squeeze drops of food coloring, red, yellow and blue, into the dishes and have the children identify these colors and find the same primary colors on the chart.

2. Next, let the children use eyedroppers to transfer water from the blue and yellow dishes to the dish in between. Encourage them to count the number of drops as they mix colors to help balance the color combinations. When they have produced the green water, have them find green on the large color chart. Repeat the procedure with red and yellow, and blue and red. Have the secondary colors on the chart identified.

3. When the children have finished mixing the secondary colors in the dishes, have them mix colors with eye droppers on the white paper covering the table.

4. Remove the water and have the children color in their own color charts, copying from the large color chart. Help each child by printing the first letter of the color name, using the correct color, in each section of the chart. Have children name colors and refer to large color chart.

See Illustration.