Since our nation’s flag was designed and adopted in 1777, the colors red, white and blue have always held a special place in each American’s heart. Celebrate these three patriotic colors and learn more about the science of density with a Red, White & BOOM Sensory Bottle! Activity Source
Materials
- Recycled plastic bottle with cap
- Tray with dividers
- Red, white and blue items to put in your bottle (buttons, straws, pipe cleaners, etc.)
- Glitter
- Water
- Food coloring (optional)
- Craft foam stars
- String
- Red, white or blue duct tape
- Glue (optional)
Instructions
Start this activity off with a scavenger hunt! Go to a craft store or open up your own collection of materials and look for anything red, white or blue that could fit inside of your plastic bottle. Select your favorite pieces and add to your bottle, making sure you have a fair amount of red, white and blue to give a good effect. Once you feel good about your choices, carefully pour a desired amount of glitter into your bottle and then fill with water. Twist the cap back on the bottle as tight as you can, tie a foam star around the lid for decoration, and then finish with duct tape to keep the bottle secure. (You can also rub glue around the opening of the bottle before closing the cap for added security.) Gently shake the bottle and watch as your glitter and found objects create a patriotic kaleidoscope before your eyes!
The Science
This activity explores density! By choosing a variety of objects, you can observe how items with different weights behave in water. Do your buttons float or sink? Will your pipe cleaners float higher than your straws? With each observation, discuss how the weight of the item and the weight of the water itself impacts how that item will behave when the bottle is shaken.
Further Exploration
- When sorting your items, divide them up by size. Do you think the bigger items will float or sink? Why? Use this opportunity to explore how smaller items can have more density than bigger items.
- What happens if I use blue or red colored water instead of clear water? Use this opportunity to talk about how light travels through different colors.
- What happens when I use more items? What about less?
Join us on July 4th for our annual fundraising event, Red, White and BOOM where we’ll explore even MORE patriotic science!
