Fun and easy play-based STEAM activity for toddlers, preschool & kindergarten
Colorful Drawing Book - Fun science & arts experiment about capillary action, absorption & outdoor
Activity summary
This is not JUST another science activity – it’s a play-based, hands-on STEAM activity. It will keep your children extra engaged & motivated, which helps them learn!
In this activity, your children will be little investigators helping Hoseli the robot
to solve tricky problems and find creative answers to the question: How can color suddenly appear on a picture? By doing that, they get to practice concepts like capillary action, absorption, outdoor, colour, and more.
Activity length: 20-30 minutes
Subjects: Science, Arts, Mathematics
Adapt for your age group
Register for free to get free weekly lessons, tips from experts on how to engage different age groups:
For this activity, you need only these simple supplies:
pipettes
plates
jars of water
kitchen paper
different kinds of paper (e.g. printer paper, tissue paper, filter paper, baking paper)
water soluble markers in different colors
You can also use
permanent markers
What will your children learn?
Your children will learn to:
Test out different solutions: using trial and error
Observe how something changes when it gets wet
Interpret how the color moves through the paper
Enjoy a magical color experiment and develop creativity skills
while practicing these concepts:
capillary action
absorption
outdoor
colour
coloring
Instructions
Step 1: Introduce the problem with a story letter
Teacher introducing the reseach problem through the letter that arrived from Supraland
In this play-based activity, your children will lead the investigation as an investigator. When children role play as investigators, they learn so much better! Try starting with a little ‘spin’ to get into character!
Then, they can help Hoseli the robot solve some tricky problems in their new role.
Before the activity, prepare your supplies and print the letter.
Pro tip:
When children play as scientists, they think like scientists. Try using “scientist jackets” to help them really get into character!
When you start the activity, introduce the research problem in the form of a letter that arrived from Supraland where Hoseli the robot lives.
You might be wondering: “Why should I use a story?”
Well, when you introduce a research problem through play and imaginary characters rather than just stating cold facts, children will be extra motivated to solve the problem for their new imaginary friends. Academic research shows this results in increased engagement, better focus, and improved learning outcomes.
You can find the story for this activity below (register for free to print this & many more free activities!).
Hi there Scientists, it’s me Hoseli the robot!
I was outside, drawing in my drawing book.
Suddenly it started to rain and I went inside to shelter.
But I forgot my drawing book… Oh no!! The drawings were going to get soaking wet!
After the rain, when I went back outside, I noticed something magnificent… the drawings were even more beautiful than before!
Now they have bright and vivid colors. It is almost like magic!
How did the drawings get so colorful?
Could you become investigators and help me find out?
After the child understands the problem, it’s time for some hands-on experimenting!
When children are doing the experiment, remind them why they want to solve the problem – to help Hoseli the robot.
This helps them stay engaged. If they get stuck, you can ask supporting questions like: “What do you think might help Hoseli the robot to solve this problem?”
If needed, you can get more ideas for guiding questions and adaptation tips for different age groups
(register here to get free weekly activities).
Here are the basic steps for his activity:
Phase 1: Open ended paper exploration
Observe the different materials:
- How do they feel?
- What kind of sound do they make?
- Can we draw on them?
Use the different papers to make drawing booklets by folding them (just like Hoseli!)
Observe and compare:
- How are they different?
- Which materials make the best drawing book? Why?
Phase 2: Rain
Take the water and pipettes. Practice how to make water droplets using a pipette.
Place the drawing books on plates.
Observe what happens to the different drawing booklets when you pipet droplets on them:
- What happens to the paper?
- What happens to the colors?
Make interpretations:
- Why do you think it happens?
- Where does the color come from?
- How are the papers different?
Phase 3: Suggested solution
Make a little booklet out of a paper towel by folding it.
“At first, Hoseli only had a black outline on his drawing. Let’s draw something, just like Hoseli.”
Draw an outline of a shape on the front page, using one color only. Tip: a dark color works best.
Open the booklet up. You might observe how the drawing is transferred onto the inside pages as well. Wonder together about how this transfer happened.
Add lots of colors inside, to the second sheet.
Close the ‘booklet’ again and note how the colors are now hidden.
“Now, let’s see what happens when it starts to rain!”
Observe and wonder the colors moving from the second page to the first.
Make interpretations:
- Why do you think it happens?
- Where does the color come from?
- Does it work with the other papers?
Make a conclusion: What happened to Hoseli’s drawing book?
Pro tip: give children the freedom to get creative and explore their own solutions!
Remember: It’s an imaginary world. It’s more than ok if children don’t give the “correct” answers right away – give them time to practice their skills.
Academic research shows children learn best through child-led play and inquiry rather than following strict instructions or memorizing facts because play allows them to build meanings and connections in an age-appropriate way.
This perhaps unintuitive approach is also proven to keep children more engaged and improve their learning outcomes.
Register for free for more lessons like this.
Make science more fun and memorable with 100s of play-based lesson plans like this one.
With our free subscription, you get 1 free lesson per week. Or, see our pricing to get unlimited access to all lesson plans and training materials.
Adult wrapping up a play-based activity by encouraging children to share their findings with the character they’re helping.
To encourage children to analyze and share their learnings, you can gather in a circle to report to Hoseli the robot.
Again, lead with the problem the character was experiencing in the letter. Encourage sharing wild and creative solutions without correcting children if they don’t fully understand the concept.
Remember: in playful learning, we’re not leading with scientific explantions – we’re putting the problem at hand into a context that makes sense to them. We can start building meanings from there.
Scientific explanation (for adults!)
Capillary action, along with absorption, makes the water move (and colors spread) in the paper towel. If you looked at the paper towel very closely with a microscope, you would see like small pipes inside the paper. The water spreads by moving along these pipes.
When the two layers of paper get wet, they stick together and the colors of the bottom layer are able to spread through to the top layer. They become visible; so it looks like the top picture is colored in.
Different papers have varying sizes of inner ‘pipes’. Some pipes are so tiny that the water cannot spread. Alternatively, some paper can be slightly waterproof: it can be coated with a substance which repels the water (e.g. baking paper)
Is this REALLY for free?
YES! Kide has a 100% free subscription. There’s no hidden costs, and you don’t need to add your credit card information.
With the free subscription, you get 1 free lesson per week which is typically more than enough to get started. See our pricing to get unlimited access to all lesson plans and training materials.
This program is incredible. The characters, the stories, the experiments are so much fun. I do not need to spend any time planning. Everything I need is given to me be Kide Science.
Elsa
Kindergarten Teacher
Super easy to plan, and the items are usually things that we already have. Planning is made very easy & the children are very motivated!
Marju
Parent
Was just observed doing one of these lessons. Principal was shocked and so was I - one of the kids with pretty severe attention issues was engaged the entire time!
Trusted by brands, loved by over 100,000 children globally
It is free and no credit card needed! With the free subscription, you get 1 free lesson per week. See our pricing to get unlimited access to all lesson plans and training materials.
Learn more about subscription plans
Copying/printing is not contractually allowed due to copyright reasons.
You can find printable materials in our lesson plan attachments and extras section.
Activity length: 20-30 minutes
Subjects: Science, Arts, Mathematics
30 min lesson
Easy preparation
Medium prep.
