You can open 2 more free projects before signing up.Sign up free
← All projects

Firework in a Jar

Ages 4–8⏱ 15 minMess: MEDIUMGrown-up help: LowKitchen Science
Professor O proudly stands beside a clear glass jar filled three-quarters full with water and a top layer of golden vegetable oil.

Professor O will help you learn: Drops of food colouring are stirred into oil and floated on top of warm water, where they sink and burst into silent, swirling firework trails. Children learn that oil and water do not mix, and that water-based food colouring stays in little beads in the oil until it reaches the water and spreads out.

⚠️ Use warm tap water, not hot water from the kettle. Glass jars can break, so an adult should check the jar and help with pouring. Wipe up oil spills straight away because they make floors slippery.

Play through the project step by step, with narration read aloud.

Share this project

Steps

Tap any step to play from there — the narration plays inside the player.

Make it your own: Try again with cold water and then warm water and time how long the colours take to spread, to see how temperature speeds up mixing.