My kids love anything colorful, so I want to try some chemistry with food coloring experiments. I've seen the milk and soap experiment, but what other fun chemical reactions for families involve food coloring? Looking for household chemistry experiments that create dramatic color changes or patterns.
The classic chemistry with food coloring experiment is the walking water rainbow. Place cups in a row, fill alternating cups with colored water, connect with paper towel bridges. The water walks" along the towels, mixing colors in the empty cups. Demonstrates capillary action and color mixing beautifully.
We do oil and water fireworks in a jar. Fill a jar with water, add oil on top, then drop food coloring. The color drops sink through the oil then explode in the water. It shows density differences and how oil and water don't mix. Very dramatic visual for fun chemical reactions for families.
Try the color changing milk experiment with a twist. Use whole milk, add food coloring drops, then touch with cotton swab dipped in different liquids: dish soap, vinegar, rubbing alcohol. Each creates different patterns. It's one of those household chemistry experiments that you can vary to test hypotheses.