This activity promotes development and learning by encouraging children to:

• Explore how sound travels through water and air
• Make a hypothesis, test, and run an experiment

Materials Needed:

• 4+ mason jars
• Water
• Natural food coloring
• Spoon
• Paper
• Markers

Directions:

1. Line up the empty mason jars, then tap each with your spoon and listen to the sound they make. Do they all sound the same, or are they different?
2. Fill each mason jar with different levels of water (full, ¾, ½, ¼, etc.).
3. Drop a different color of natural food coloring into the water in each mason jar.
4. Use the spoon to tap gently on the side of each mason jar containing water and listen closely to the sound they make. Do they all sound the same, or are they different?

Extension:

1. Draw a color pattern on a piece of paper based on the colors of food coloring you’ve used.
2. Tap on the mason jars following the color pattern from the paper above.
3. Repeat or challenge a friend or family member