Sunrise sunset experiment

Science experiments are not only educational, they’re loads of fun as well! Kids will be amazed watching the different lights shining through the glass with the water and then the milk.

What you need:

• clear drinking glass
• water
• whole milk
• measuring cup
• teaspoon
• flashlight

Number of players:
1+

Activity:

Half fill a clear drinking glass with water.

Shine your flashlight on the glass directly above it.

The water will look white.

Now pour 1/2 cup of milk into the glass and mix well.

Take the glass somewhere dark and shine the flashlight from the side of glass through the milk.

The milk will look yellow, orange or red.

Why?

Just like a sunset or sunrise, the light is shining through particles.

The atmosphere is full of billions of particles.

When the sun is low in the morning or early evening, it’s rays must travel through a thicker layer of atmosphere than at other times of the day.

When sunlight hits these particles, the light bounces off of them and scatters.

Orange and red lights scatter the least, which is why you see these colours in a sunrise or sunset.