How to Teach Kids Water Purification
- 1). Put water into the bowl, filling it about halfway. Mix food coloring and salt into the water. Make sure the water looks undrinkable, and ask the kids how they think that water looks and tastes.
- 2). Give the kids paper and crayons to record their observations. Have them draw the bowl and show the color of the water. For older groups, request that they write a sentence or two about how the water looks and might taste. Have them label the top of the paper "before."
- 3). Place the glass in the middle of the bowl. Make sure it is stable and will not move or tip over.
- 4). Apply the plastic wrap to the top of the bowl and secure it with a rubber band or tape. It should tight but with some give.
- 5). Place the rock on top of the plastic directly above the glass. The rock should cause the plastic to dip and hang over the glass for the water to drip into but not touch the glass.
- 6). Set the bowl outside in the sun or under a heat lamp. The heat will turn the water to gas but not the food coloring or salt. When the H2O gas hits the cooler plastic, it will condense and turn back into water, dripping back into the glass. Left behind in the bowl will be the salt and food coloring.
- 7). Check the experiment every hour. Once the glass has enough water for the kids to see and taste, take the glass out and show the kids.
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