Scientist of the Week! Lava in a glass Edition

Something that I LOVE about Westin's preschool is that they pick a kid to be 'Scientist of the Week'. During that week our young scientist plus a parent perform an 'experiment' for the class. Today, Westin and I did 'Lava in a glass' (h/t sciencebob.com).

Originally, Westin wanted a 'volcano' experiment. That experiment had already been done in at least 2 different iterations, so we chose the next best thing: LAVA.

To do this experiment at home you will need: a glass, water, vegetable oil, salt, and food coloring--oh and the most important ingredient: a young inquisitive scientist.

Here's how you do it:
1. You fill the glass ~3/4 full with water.
2.  Add your food coloring. In our experience, greens and blue are too dark--a good orange works nicely.
3. Carefully pour the vegetable oil on top (it will float).
4. Now sprinkle salt on top of the oil and watch what happens..........
 
WHOA!!! Amirite!!?? Okay so what just happened there? So we all know that oil and water don't mix too well. Then we learn that the salt is heavier than the oil. So, when you put salt on top of the oil, the salt pulls some oil with it as it sinks into the water. But the salt will eventually dissolve and releases the oil, which floats back up to the top. COOooooooLLLL!

Westin and I also tried colored sugar AND flour....flour is pretty interesting. Do you want to try the experiment to see why?? I really appreciate Westin sharing his experiment with me and his class. It was so MUCH fun!!