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Mixing Colors

Resource for Grades Pre-K-1
| Citation

Everyday Science: Mixing Colors

Media Type:
Video

Running Time: 1m 12s
Size: 2.8 MB

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Resource Produced by:

KET

Collection Developed by:

KET

Collection Credits

Collection Funded by:

KET's Everyday Science is funded in part by Kentucky Power and the American Electric Power Foundation and PNC Bank.

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What color do you get when you mix blue and yellow? Children learn about mixing two colors to create a new color in this original animated video from KET.

This resource is part of the KET Everyday Science collection.

Permitted use: Download, Share, and Remix Download, Share, and Remix

Supplemental Media Available:

Everyday Science: Mixing Color Interactive (Interactive)

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Mixing two separate colors to create a third new, or different color is a wonderful hands-on activity that can help young children learn about one of the most basic concepts, altering a physical property of a substance, such as its appearance.

The colors used for mixing in this resource are red, blue and yellow. They are known as the primary colors. By mixing them together, secondary colors are produced. Those colors are orange, purple and green.

The Teaching Tips will give you some ideas how to continue the conversation and expand on the content in the video.

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Activity: Mixing Colors:

Vocabulary

primary colors, red, blue, yellow, secondary colors, orange, green, purple


For this activity, you will need:
  • a large container of vanilla yogurt or instant vanilla pudding mixed with milk.
  • food coloring.
  • divided plastic plates and spoons.
  • large piece of paper for each child. Butcher paper works well because the glazed finish makes the colors more brilliant.
  • a note to send to parents that the children will be painting with homemade paints made with food coloring. You may want to suggest that parents dress their children in older, washable clothes.


    • Directions
    1. Seat the children at the table, and provide each child with a divided plastic plate and spoon.
    2. Explain to the children that they will be mixing their own paints so that they can finger paint.
    3. Place a spoonful of yogurt in each of the three sections of each child’s plate.
    4. Place a drop of food coloring, red, yellow, and blue, in each of the three portions of yogurt.
    5. Allow the children time to mix the food coloring with the yogurt. Be sure to provide a spoon for each color so the colors stay pure.
    6. Ask the children to name the colors they created. Explain that these three colors are called “primary colors” because other colors may be made from them. "Primary" means first in time or original.
    7. Ask each child to divide the colored yogurt on each half of the divided plate. Repeat this with all three colors.
    8. Ask the children to take a spoonful of red yogurt and place it on one of the spoonfuls of yellow yogurt. What color did they make?
    9. Ask the children to take a spoonful of red yogurt and place it on one of the spoonfuls of blue yogurt. What color did they make?
    10. Ask the children to take a spoonful of yellow yogurt and place it on one of the spoonfuls of blue yogurt. What color did they make?
    11. Explain to the children that these colors, orange, purple and green, are secondary colors because they were made “second.”
    12. Encourage the children to paint with their new colors. Display the artwork.
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