Color Walks: Seeing Colors in Our World

Research Questions:

Do you see the color [insert color of the day]? Look carefully – it is hidden everywhere! (This makes a nice “sight” component for a larger project on the five senses. See also the Shape Walks science fair project.)

Materials:

• Nice days for walks
• Simple, inexpensive digital camera (one that young children can use)
• Color printer (or a print shop)
• Poster boards in each color of the day or 8.5x11 card stock and string or stapler
• Glue
• Marker

Experimental Procedure:

1. Choose a “color of the day.”
2. Go for a walk in your neighborhood looking for that color.
3. Whenever you find an example of the color, take a photograph of it.
4. Later, print out photos of your best examples.
5. Using the photographs, posterboard in the color of the day, and glue, make a poster for that color. (Label the poster with the word for that color.)
6. Alternatively, use the card stock to create a book (instead of a poster) of your color.
7. Repeat for all the basic colors. When you get a nice collection of these posters or books side by side, they become quite striking!

Terms/Concepts: five senses, sense of sight, color, red, blue, green, yellow, orange, purple, black, white, brown

For more practice, cook a batch of Rainbow Stew!