What better way to get excited about Halloween than to do a spooky magical STEM project and create Invisible Ink? Invisible ink creates the magic that will keep your children guessing and this makes a perfect Halloween STEM activity. It makes for a great art activity where science plays a BIG role.
Age:
4 and up
What you need:
- Turmeric
- 1 tbls Baking Soda
- 3 tbls hand sanitizer or rubbing alcohol
- Paint brush
- 2 bowls
- Paper
How to:
- On a piece of paper draw a Jack-O- Lantern or you can print one out
- In one bowl mix 1tbls of baking soda with 1 tbls of water.
- With this mixture paint the negative space of your jack-o-lantern. The eyes, nose and mouth. Then let dry for a few minutes.
- In the second bowl ½ teaspoon of turmeric and 3 tbls of rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer.
- With the turmeric mixture, paint over your jack-o- lantern and watch what happens.
- Clean up all the solutions in the sink. Note: turmeric stains so set up your workspace with that in mind.
What happened?
Baking soda is alkaline and gets absorbed into the paper. Turmeric changes color depending on if it is in an acid or alkaline environment. As the turmeric reacts to the baking soda it will turn into a deep orange.
Objective:
Children will work on fine motor skills as they paint AND they will also learn to follow step-by-step directions. They will watch how different solutions can interact with each other and create different results.