Colored Celery Science Experiment for Kids {Capillary Action}

Back when we were learning about plants, the twins (4 years old) did an easy little science experiment to learn about capillary action (how water travels up a plant's stem).  Here's how its done..

I gave the girls food coloring to add to water in little paper cups.  They enjoyed mixing it up.

Then they placed pieces of celery into the cups and left them over night.  This celery came with some buffalo wings from a restaurant - if we had store-bought celery I would have chosen some with leaves so we could see if the leaves changed color as well.  The nice thing about this experiment is that it doesn't have a lot of steps and can be done pretty ad-hoc with items you might already have in your kitchen.

 

The next day, I asked the kids to make some predictions about what happened, and then observe the results.  When we cut through the celery stalk, we could clearly see how the colored water was pulled upward through the thin tubes.  This Spring we'll be repeating the experiment using white Carnations to see if we can get the flowers to change color.  I love when science doesn't have to involve a lot of preparation and complexity - this is an easy fun experiment that little ones love..