Eruptions of Color! Try this experiment and then tell us what you discover!   What You Need: Tall glass or bottle Water Cooking oil Cup Fork Food coloring Tip: This works best if you use a small amount of food coloring. Question: How can you create an eruption of color? 1) First, fill the bottle nearly to the top with water. 2) Then, pour a few tablespoons of cooking oil into a cup. 3) Put a few drops of food coloring into the oil. Use two or three different colors. 4) Now , mix the oil and food coloring with a fork. 5) Pour the mixture on top of the water in the bottle. 6) Watch as an amazing display of colors erupts before your very eyes! Can you explain what happened? A Scientific Explanation: The oil and food coloring mixture floats on top of the water because oil is lighter than water. Food coloring is mostly water with some dye, or coloring, so it is heavier than the oil. Because the tiny drops of food coloring are heavier than the oil, they sink through and color the water below. EXTRA! EXTRA! Try different combinations of oil, water, and food coloring. What happens when you alter, or change, the mixture? It was so cool - I discovered a red color! - Andrea A. It was cool! We used blue and green food coloring. The first time, we mixed the food coloring a lot and it made crooked stripes to the bottom. The second time, we mixed it less and it made cool shapes that looked like parachutes or jellyfish. The second time, we added a drop of dish soap to the middle to see what the oil would do. Then we used straws to blow bubbles, and we made a huge volcano! - Emily C. When I made my bottle of color, the top turned green, but there were different color dots making it look like there was confetti in a bottle. - Brianna T. Wow! So cool! - Satina W. It was beautiful! This is the best site ever. - Faith C. I discovered that the food colors gradually erupted from the oil floating on top of the water.  Initially, the colors were orange-reddish looking (small and very stringy), evolving into bigger and darker color (like a volcano!) -Dorothy H. It looks like colors exploding.  The little drops of color get darker and darker and drip down through the water.  It was beautiful.  It was really cool. - Isaac N. It was very colorful. - Annie A. The eruptions are so beautiful. - Akanksha E. I discovered that when you put the food coloring and oil into the water it looked like confetti coming down. - Thomas L. I mixed red with blue and I discovered that it turned purple. - Cory S.