Science Experiment: Mix Paint to Make New Colors--National Geographic Little Kids

Mix colors to make new ones. Ask your mom and dad for help.

YOU WILL NEED
• Poster board
• Black marker
• Red, yellow, and blue paint

HERE'S HOW
1. Draw a circle using a black marker. Divide the circle into six sections like a pie.
2. Spread eight drops of each paint color onto three sections as shown above.
3. Squeeze four drops of red and four drops of yellow onto a blank section.
4. Mix together to make orange. Make these other colors, too.

Red + blue = purple
Blue + yellow = green

Photograph: a boy with paint on his fingers

COOL SCIENCE

Red, yellow, and blue are called primary colors. You can make other colors by mixing the primary colors.

PARENT TIP: SCIENCE

Extend this project by exploring other color combinations with your child. Discuss what happens when you mix three colors together. Compare the difference between the shades of color that result from two drops of red and six of blue instead of four of each.

Introduce the topic of colors in rainbows, and look for one the next time the conditions are right outside. Meanwhile, discuss the colors you can see in a rainbow and help your child draw one as it would appear in the sky: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.

Teach your child how to play the game "I Spy," using colors. Take turns being the one to say "I spy something...(name a color)." Other players guess what you spotted until finding the right object.

Photographs by Rebecca Hale

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