Can you change the colour of a flower?

We’re going to investigate how plants transport water. Which part of the plant is used? This experiment effectively demonstrates how plants transport water up the stem to reach the leaves and petals to hydrate them. 

You will need:

1) A few stems of bright, white flowers such as Chrysanthemums, Gerberas or carnations

2) Jars filled with water and various shades of liquid or gel food colouring

Before you get started, you need to make some predictions about your experiment. What do you think will happen? Will the petals change colour? Do you think it will soak up every colour? Why? Can you draw the flowers before and after? You might like to do a detailed drawing of the experiment before and after. Can you label your drawing?

You may want to encourage your child to record their predictions in something along the lines of the format below.

Within an hour or so some of the outer petals start to change colours, especially the blue and green dyes which seem to be the strongest. Don’t forget to write a sentence explaining what you have found out to conclude your investigation.

 What they are learning : performing a simple science experiment, making predictions and observations, understanding the parts of a plant, learning how water moves through a plant, drawing simple conclusions
creativity: drawing from observation and noticing changes in appearance