Paint & Print

Painting and printing are great activities for creative development and fine motor skills. Here's some inspiration for your next painting activity!

STEAM: Melt and Mingle

This colour mixing experiment is so much fun – especially on a hot day! Children will be able to learn through play - they will explore colour mixing, two of the three scientific states of matter (solids and liquids) and undertake scientific thinking and experimentation on how to melt the ice the fastest!

Please note: You will also need salt, sugar, bi-carb soda and an ice cube tray to complete this activity.
  • Before beginning this experiment, place a teaspoon of each of the powdered dye colours in separate jars and fill with water to create a red, yellow and blue liquid dye.
  • Step 1Take an old ice cube tray and fill the cube sections up with the liquid dyes using a pipette, making sure to only use one colour per section. Make sure not to overfill them and then carefully put the tray in the freezer – we don’t want the colours to mix just yet!
  • Step 2Once the coloured ice cubes have frozen solid, take them out of the freezer and gather 3 jars.
  • Step 3Place red and yellow ice cubes into the first jar, red and blue ice cubes into the second and then yellow and blue ice cubes into the final jar.
  • Step 4Now add a tablespoon of salt to the first jar, sugar to the second and bi-carb soda to the third. Think about which jar you think will melt the fastest and what colours you might see when the coloured ice melts and combines, then write down your predictions.
  • Step 5Observe each of the jars and take note of how fast the ice melts in each, as well as what happens when the colours mix. Which ice cubes melted the quickest? What colours do we now have in the jars? Record your scientific findings and present your report to your friends, classmates and family!

Materials used in this activity

Paint Pipettes - Pack of 12
Optional
Product Code: 10699
EACH $4.39 (inc GST) $3.99 (ex GST)
10 or more $3.29 (inc GST) $2.99 (ex GST)          
Increase value Decrease value
Product Code: 14731
EACH $2.75 (inc GST) $2.50 (ex GST)
24 to 95 $2.48 (inc GST) $2.25 (ex GST) 96 or more $1.93 (inc GST) $1.75 (ex GST)
Increase value Decrease value
Product Code: 19857
EACH $48.39 (inc GST) $43.99 (ex GST)
Increase value Decrease value
Product Code: 19859
EACH $48.39 (inc GST) $43.99 (ex GST)
Increase value Decrease value
Product Code: 19861
EACH $48.39 (inc GST) $43.99 (ex GST)
Increase value Decrease value