Oil & Glowing Water Science Experiment


We have been having all sorts of fun with florescent paint the past few weeks! This activity was quick and easy to put together and one that my three year old really enjoyed. Okay, I really enjoyed it as well. I may have had my own pan of oil to join in on the fun. I found this amazing idea on Growing a Jeweled Rose. Here's what you need: 
  • Round Cake Pan (or something similar - like a pie tin)
  • Baby Oil - I bought a 10 oz. bottle from the Dollar Store. You'll need one bottle per cake pan.
  • Warm Water
  • Cups or containers to hold the water
  • Florescent Paint - I bought a set of six colors from Walmart for $2.97
  • Black Light
  • Pipettes


1) Pour one bottle of baby oil into a round cake pan. Set aside.

2) Fill a cup with warm water and florescent paint (we used about 1/2 cup of warm water and 1 teaspoon of paint). Mix well. We used four of these neon cups and four different colors of paint.


3) Turn on a black light and let your child explore. I placed a pipette in each color of glowing water for my three year old to squeeze into the oil. We talked a little bit about the science behind water and oil, but mostly just played.




A few other pictures:

My three enjoyed mixing the colors around with his pipette and eventually dumped all the paint into his cake pan, making a huge glowing brown blob. 



Before the brown blob, I took this beautiful picture of the glowing water in oil. This one is my favorite of them all!


Popular posts from this blog

Ocean Foil Painting

Family Home Evening Index

Family Home Evening: Baptism

Obedience (1): The Chocolate Chip Ghost Story