How Does Color Move?

February 13, 2023

We presented the children with a provocation today of salt, water colors and a mirror with the question "how does color move?" Some children said that colors don't move and some had different ideas.

JB said "colors move when pieces of colors stick to other colors."

GP said "when rainbows get dim they go up and down and then they connect, that's how colors move."

The children were excited to see how colors could move during this experience. As they sat down, they picked up the droppers and slowly began to drip the water colors onto the salt. Check out what happens once the water colors touched the salt...

GNF - It moves slowly. Maybe because of the air. Maybe if you put another color on top it will make a new color and make it darker.

CC - The green is moving fast! It's going across.

EO - It's Spreading!

Teacher - What makes a spread?

Maybe because it's the air.

CS - When you put the color on like this it moves the snow.

NN - Look, it's moving fast!

JB - Is that snow?

RN - It's salt. When the color touches the salt it moves, it's spreading.

JB - The salt takes the color across and makes it move. It's like a stream that can move.

EF - When the color touches the salt it moves.

AK - It changes color when it touches and it moves.

You know what? This is the kind of salt we put on food.

GP - When salt gets too moisturey it makes the colors spread. It's like a blue river.

CS - It's a rainbow river.

GL - When I put red on orange it spreads and it changes colors to a bright red.

We set up a table with aluminum foil, colored blocks, stacking rocks and rainbow pebbles along with the statement "show me what you can make with these materials.