Spring is a great time for spotting rainbows, but even on a day when the sun won’t peek through and you’re stuck inside with the kids, you can make a rainbow in your own kitchen. This craft will appeal to young children because of the play factor after it is made, and older children because of the experience of cooking up a rainbow.
The idea is to cook the concoction on your stovetop, make the goop into different colors and put it into a bag to make a rainbow. Then it’s tactile fun and visual fun, squishing the colors around.
Kids will need parental supervision because there is cooking involved, but you’ll have as much fun as they will.
Rainbow Goop
You will need:
Three to four colors of food coloring
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup cornstarch
4 cups cold water
Medium saucepan, spoon, three to four bowls, zip-style heavy duty plastic bag
1. Blend the sugar and the cornstarch together in the saucepan. Mix them thoroughly.
2. Add the water and stir.
3. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens, about 5 – 10 minutes.
4. Divide the mixture into as many bowls as you have colors of food coloring. Add a few drops of food coloring to each bowl. Mix well. Add enough food coloring to make bright colors. Let the mixtures cool.
5. Put a large spoonful of each color into the plastic bag. Seal the bag carefully. Now have fun squooshing around your rainbow in a bag.
After all the squishy fun, the colors will eventually completely blend and turn into a yucky brownish gray color. Time to throw it away, unless a little mud in a bag appeals to you!