Rainbow Sugar Eruption
This is a colorful science experiment that demonstrates absorption and dissolving. As the warm water hits the sugar, the tower "erupts" into a colorful meltdown!
Ingredients & Tools:
Sugar Cubes (enough to build a small tower or pyramid)
Warm Water (warm dissolves the sugar faster than cold)
Food Coloring (Liquid drops work best)
A White Plate or Shallow Bowl (white helps the colors show up best)
Instructions:
Build Your Volcano: Stack the sugar cubes into a pyramid or tower shape in the center of your plate. Make sure the base is stable.
Add the "Lava": Drip different colors of food coloring onto the sugar cubes. You can do one color per cube or mix them up!
Tip: Try to concentrate the color near the top and middle of the stack.
The Eruption: Slowly pour the warm water onto the plate around the base of the tower (don't pour it directly on top yet!).
Watch the Reaction:
First, you'll see the colored water race up the sugar cubes (this is capillary action).
Then, as the sugar dissolves, the tower will begin to crumble and collapse, creating a swirling "eruption" of rainbow colors spreading across the plate.
(Note: Since this recipe uses only sugar and water, it creates a "melting" eruption. If you were expecting a fizzy explosion, that version requires baking soda and vinegar!)