Kindergarten Art: Absorb/Repel Science Project

This week in Art, kindergarteners once again experimented to discover unique properties of various art materials. They received watercolors and three surfaces to paint on: Aluminum foil, paper towel, and watercolor paper. They painted rainbows on each surface. 

Then, we discussed how the surfaces had reacted to the paints in different ways. For example, I asked questions such as: Which painting feels the wettest? Which painting drips the most? Which painting made the colors bleed together the most? We then discussed to what extent this meant the surfaces absorbed and repelled the watercolor paint. This reinforced the usage of this materials science vocabulary which they learned in the kindergarten classroom. 

They determined that the foil was the most repellant, so much so that it probably wouldn't dry before class was over- uh oh! So, they took an absorbent watercolor paper and placed it on top to make a print, which ended up looking like beautiful tie-dye. 

Finally, based on our observations, we looked at pictures of all three under a microscope and talked about their textures, and tried to guess which was which and how this affected their absorbance. 

Can you guess?