Oil and Watercolor STEAM Discovery Center

Transform this basic scientific discovery into art when you use watercolors instead of clear water for an enlightening oil and water experiment!

As we adults know, oil and water do not mix, but young kids will be amazed and delighted at the discovery.

Scientific understanding starts with the very basic of discoveries.

STEAM education at the earliest level focuses on exploring, discovering and having fun with science.

Be sure to check out our other fun family-friendly kid activities and crafts!

This post contains affiliate links.

Oil and Watercolor STEAM Discovery Center | Mommy Evolution

Oil and Watercolor Experiment

Follow these tips to build your own STEAM discovery center with a oil and watercolor experiment!

How to Make Your Own Oil and Watercolor Discovery Center

Materials you’ll need:

Before you invite kids to the discovery center, you’ll need to set it up first.

Add a small amount of watercolor and water to each muffin cup (leaving 2 muffin cups open for oil).

Awesome Science Experiments for Kids: 100+ Fun STEM / STEAM Projects and Why They WorkAwesome Science Experiments for Kids: 100+ Fun STEM / STEAM Projects and Why They WorkAwesome Science Experiments for Kids: 100+ Fun STEM / STEAM Projects and Why They WorkAwesome Kitchen Science Experiments for Kids: 50 STEAM Projects You Can Eat!Awesome Kitchen Science Experiments for Kids: 50 STEAM Projects You Can Eat!Awesome Kitchen Science Experiments for Kids: 50 STEAM Projects You Can Eat!Awesome Engineering Activities for Kids: 50+ Exciting STEAM Projects to Design and BuildAwesome Engineering Activities for Kids: 50+ Exciting STEAM Projects to Design and BuildAwesome Engineering Activities for Kids: 50+ Exciting STEAM Projects to Design and BuildAwesome Physics Experiments for Kids: 40 Fun Science Projects and Why They WorkAwesome Physics Experiments for Kids: 40 Fun Science Projects and Why They WorkAwesome Physics Experiments for Kids: 40 Fun Science Projects and Why They Work

 

Add oil to the remaining muffin cups.

Place the muffin pan and the watercolor paper inside of a tray.

This will keep the mess (more) contained and you will wish you had used a tray if you try to do this without one.

Outdoor Science Lab for Kids: 52 Family-Friendly Experiments for the Yard, Garden, Playground, and ParkOutdoor Science Lab for Kids: 52 Family-Friendly Experiments for the Yard, Garden, Playground, and ParkOutdoor Science Lab for Kids: 52 Family-Friendly Experiments for the Yard, Garden, Playground, and ParkSTEAM Play & Learn: 20 fun step-by-step preschool projects about science, technology, engineering, art, and math!STEAM Play & Learn: 20 fun step-by-step preschool projects about science, technology, engineering, art, and math!STEAM Play & Learn: 20 fun step-by-step preschool projects about science, technology, engineering, art, and math!STEAM Kids: 50+ Science / Technology / Engineering / Art / Math Hands-On Projects for KidsSTEAM Kids: 50+ Science / Technology / Engineering / Art / Math Hands-On Projects for KidsSTEAM Kids: 50+ Science / Technology / Engineering / Art / Math Hands-On Projects for KidsTinkerlab: A Hands-On Guide for Little InventorsTinkerlab: A Hands-On Guide for Little InventorsTinkerlab: A Hands-On Guide for Little Inventors

 

My kids quickly added a bunch of water to the paper, which would have created a disaster without the tray.

Instruct the kids to pick up a small amount of oil with their pipette and squeeze it onto the tray.

Pick up a bit of colored water and drop it on top of the oil.

Ask the kids to observe what happens to the oil and water.

When they push each other away, a painting is made!

My kids repeated their experiments with various colors and more oil until their papers were just about soaked through.

We set them aside to dry.

When the papers were dry, a beautiful, pastel rainbow was left on the page.

The kids were absolutely delighted with how their science experiment turned into art.

The oil and water pushing against each other had a dramatic effect on the final results of the art, which was quite impressive for the kids.

For more fun kid activities:

2 Comments

  1. This is an awesome idea! I put coconut oil in my son’s bath the other night and he was fascinated how it floated on top. This is the perfect activity to explore more!

  2. makinghermama says:

    This looks so fun! And I think I have all the supplies that we need to give this a try! Thanks for sharing 🙂 Pinned for later!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *