Nerdy & Girly Maker Science: Magic Glitter
Easy STEM Activity for Kids
Most of us have a love-hate relationship with glitter. 😆 We love how it looks and sparkles in the light, but hate that it takes years to get rid of every speck after a project.
This activity is fun to do with curious kiddos because it's entirely hands-on for them. They get a little drop of dish soap on their finger, then they just lightly touch it to the surface of the water to watch the glitter dash away. It leaves them feeling like they have a special, magical touch!
Another fun aspect is that this can turn into a two-for-one activity if you use a bottle of water. (We recommend the mini bottles, but any size will work.) Once the bottle is empty after performing the experiment, you can add the water - glitter and all - to turn it into a potion bottle! The dish soap and water continue trying to separate even after being mixed together, making it look like a magical liquid.
Activity Instructions
Ingredients
- 1 shallow dish, like a Petri dish, OR a small curved plate
- Water
- Chunky glitter
- Dawn dish soap
Directions
- Fill your dish with just enough water so that it's 1-2 cm deep. (You don't need very much!)
- Sprinkle the chunky glitter evenly over approx 1/4 of the surface. If you add too much, then the glitter won't have anywhere to move to.
- Add a small drop of Dawn dish soap to your finger.
- Dip your finger into the water and watch the glitter quickly move away!
The Science
Water molecules like to stick together to create an invisible "skin". This is called surface tension!
The glitter sits on top of the water because it doesn't mix into the water.
When you dip your soapy finger into the water, the soap breaks the water's surface tension wherever you've touched it. The water molecules pull away from the soap and move the glitter with it, creating this "magical" effect!