Colour mixing from Primary colours – Science experiment.

Science was meant to be fun, isn’t it? We are always creating some new product from the original one or trying to understand the process of ‘how something works’,  but somewhere while growing up we lost the essence of science and it starts to become boring. This Science experiment is about learning primary colours in a fun way and forming different colours by mixing colours.

To show the relationships between different colours we use a colour wheel. On the traditional colour wheel, there are three colours which are called the primary colours. The primary colours are red, yellow and blue. All other colours can be made from these three colours used in different ratios and proportions.

Children generally start learning about colour from preschool. Identifying colours and recognizing colours is an important part of their early years learning. At first, children might not be able to understand that light blue and navy blue are both shades of blue. Constant exposure to colours eventually helps them to differentiate between different colours. This experiment is a great way to learn about different colours by mixing primary colours.

For toddlers and preschoolers, this is an experiment to introduce them to primary colours and eventually teaching them about mixing primary colours to form different colours.

For older kids, this experiment introduces them to mixing of colours especially for children who haven’t been able to appreciate the nuances of colours.

Conducting science experiments with kids to keep their curiosity levels high. Introduce them to the five senses experiments for understanding the sense of smell, taste, sight, hearing and touch.

Things you need to conduct Mixing colours experiment:

1. Primary coloured translucent paper (Red, Yellow, Blue)
2. Scissors
3. White A4 paper

Procedure :

Step 1:

If you are doing this experiment for Toddlers/preschoolers, cut thin strips from from all the three papers. An older kids can do it himself.

Step 2:

Let them create different patterns to form different colours through the mixing of the primary colours.

We’ve formed a whole lot of new colours like green, orange, purple, dark blue. It is a great experiment for kids to understand the ‘How colours are formed’.

Tips to teach colours to toddlers and younger kids:

1.Colour Flashcards

Show them different colour flashcards for them to understand and differentiate between colours.

2.  Use one colour per week.

Pick a colour and repeat the colour throughout the week. Make the same colour food, do the same colouring activities, make them wear that same colour clothes. Keep talking about the colour. Repeating the colour in everything makes them remember it visually and verbally.

3. Use games 

Have you noticed most of the toys are in bright colours? Playing is the best way you can teach them colours. The toys are already colourful, keep incorporating the colour names while playing.

4. Colouring pages/books

You can introduce colours when you give them a colouring book with a box of crayons. While colouring they can understand the visual difference and recognize the difference.