TIP - Real Science 4 Kids - Chemistry II Chapter 7

This experiment is very fun, the kids get to go and collect some flowers and leaves, grind them up with a bit of sand using a mortar and pestle and then add a solution of alcohol to extract the pigment from the plants.  The next step is the step that didn't produce the sought after results, and of course this is where science really begins.

Flower pigment separated

The curriculum advises you to then take a dropper once you've collected the plant pigment and apply a few drops to the one end of the absorbent paper and dangle it with end of the paper touching a quarter cup of alcohol that is in a jar.  We have found that this doesn't work.  The concentration of the pigments appears to be too minimal when applied by the drop.  After waiting the allotted time (24 hours) we still can only see a small amount of coloration on one paper.

Leave pigment separated

Here comes the tip:  At the point you have collected the pigment in the alcohol just dangle the absorbent paper over that solution.  We see results pretty quickly and after the allotted time we see the sought after results.

Happy Experimenting!