Fireworks in a Jar

*Fireworks in a Jar* was an idea I saw on I Can Teach My Child.

It was one of the items on our Summer Bucket List.  We did this activity a few weekends ago, but I'm posting it now in celebration of the Fourth of July tomorrow! 

 1.  Fill a large jar, or in our case a vase, with warm water.

2.  Cover a plate with 3-4 tablespoons of vegetable oil.

3.  Drop separate drops of food coloring into the oil.  We used three different colors.

(Apparently, in this picture I was ready to take the food coloring away from Isaac in case he started to put it anywhere other than the plate!)  :)

 4.  Using a fork, mix the food coloring in the oil. 

 5.  Pour the oil and food coloring mixture into the warm water...

 ...and watch the "fireworks" burst!  :)

 Isaac kept giggling and saying, "It's so beautiful!  It's so beautiful!"

Then, David had an idea that we should start with a clean vase of warm water and pour the vegetable oil into the vase.  The oil stayed on top of the water, and then we dropped the food coloring into the oil.  We thought the colors would sink through the oil and immediately start "bursting" once they hit the water, but we had to use a fork to sink the food coloring through the oil and into the water.  :) 

Thanks, Jenae at I Can Teach My Child, for a fun activity! 

And now we can't WAIT to see real fireworks tonight!  :) 

Happy Fourth of July!