Today we’re doing a rainbow cabbage science experiment! Kids of all ages, both younger children and older children, are going to love this fun and simple rainbow cabbage activity. You’re gonna take plain ole cabbage and turn it into something colorful! How neat! You can do this rainbow cabbage science experiment at home or in the classroom.

Rainbow Cabbage Experiment

Did you know you can change the colors of plants? You can! That’s how they get the unique colors of roses that you wouldn’t typically see. But did you know you can do the same thing with other plants like cabbage?

But how does that happen? Well, inside of every plant are long fibers. These fibers soak up nutrients and water to keep the plant strong and healthy. The water of the surface of each plant will then evaporate. That’s because water molecules stick together through a process called cohesion. When the evaporation starts pulling the water, it causes the fibers to move up to the surface. Kind of like a straw, but it’s called capillary action. You can actually see this process by using cabbage leaves and food dye!

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Related: Download and print our scientific method steps for kids printable!

Supplies Needed For Rainbow Cabbage Experiment

• 2 Large Napa Cabbage Leaves
• Two Cups
• Food Dye (We used red and green)
• Dry Erase Marker With Eraser

How To Do This Rainbow Cabbage Experiment

Step 1

Slip the cabbage leaves. You will want to leave the top third of the cabbage leaf intact.

Step 2

Get some warm water and then fill your cups halfway.

Step 3

Add a few drops of food dye into each glass. Make sure you use two different colors.

Step 4

Put your glasses next to each other and then put a piece of cabbage into 1 glass and the 2nd piece in the other glass.

Step 5

Mark on your glasses where the water level is. Leave the glasses overnight.

Step 6

Look at how the water levels dropped in each glass and what happened to your cabbage leaves!

Explanation Behind The Rainbow Cabbage

Remember when we talked about the water evaporating from the leaf? Once it evaporates it leaves the dye behind. This science experiment allows you to see the water being taken up into the plant. This allows you to see the capillary action of your cabbage. Do you see the lacy patterns of the leaf capillaries? You can see them because of the dye. Isn’t that cool?

Fun Modifications For This Rainbow Cabbage Activity

You saw how the cabbage turned colors, but did you know you can change other plants colors too. We talked about white roses, but you can also change the colors of daisies, carnations, baby’s breath, or any white colored plant.

You can also see capillary action another way. Take a bucket and fill it up with water. You will then place 1 thick tube in the bucket and 1 thin tube in the bucket. The water will rise up in each tube. But, it’ll rise to different lengths. You will see that it rises higher on the thin tube than on the thick tube. It’s the same concept!

More Science Experiments From Kids Activities Blog

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• Why not try these gross science experiments too?
• Don’t miss our fun facts for kids!
• Learning the model of an atom – easy fun printables!

What colors did your rainbow cabbage turn?