Cat in the Hat Science

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On March 2nd we always celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday! This month we are sharing some fun Dr. Seuss crafts and activities to help us get prepared!

For Virtual Book Club for Kids this month we are reading The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss. We love doing Dr. Seuss theme science activities so this month we tried some red and white Cat in the Hat themed science fun since the Cat in the Hat has the coolest red and white top hat around!  

MATERIALS NEEDED FOR CAT IN THE HAT SCIENCE:

• 2 large cups
• 2 white bowls/platters with a lip (one deep, one shallow)
• red food coloring
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup white vinegar
• dropper/pipet/turkey baster

DIRECTIONS:

To get started we poured a cup of vinegar into one cup and a cup of oil into another cup. Next we mixed several drops of red food coloring into the vinegar to make it turn red.

Once the liquids were ready we started squirting them into our white dish using a turkey baster.

The vibrant colors are easier to see if you use a white dish. 

My daughter explored the red and white liquids and watched as they interacted while she dropped them into the dish.

She was pretty surprised to see that the white and red would separate.

Her favorite thing to do was mix all of the materials together in the bowl and then suck the red mixture up into her turkey baster and then watch as the red and white would split. It reminded us both of the red/white pattern on the Cat in the Hat hat!

Once we mixed everything up in one dish we started squirting the liquid onto a more shallow dish and watching what happened.

It reminded me of a flat lava lamp. It was so cool to squirt liquid in different places and watch the liquids react to one another and move and readjust. It looked quite beautiful too!

We explored the materials again and again as we moved between both containers (a shallow one and a deeper one).

As we mixed and explored we talked briefly about how the liquids worked and why they didn't mix.

SCIENCE REFRESHER FOR PARENTS:

If it has been awhile since you've taken chemistry, here is a reminder about how this experiment works.  The oil and vinegar separate. This is because the oil and vinegar particles are unable to stick together. We call this immiscible. The vinegar is heavier than oil, so it sinks down. You can temporarily force the oil and vinegar to mix by stirring them with a fork, but after a little while, you'll see that they separate back again. As you look in the mixtures above you'll see that the blobs of oil float on the top and the vinegar stays more at the bottom. 

This experiment was so fun! Have you tried it before? I only wish we could've layered even more liquids to make it look even more like the Cat in the Hat!

Do you like the Cat in the Hat? Have you ever tried a Cat in the Hat themed (or inspired) activity?

This activity is being featured as part of our February Virtual Book Club for Kids. You can click on any of the links below to see the Cat in the Hat crafts and activities that some of the other Virtual Book Club for Kids co-hosts created this month.

Build the Hat activity by I Can Teach My Child

Cat in the hat number lines and sequences by Rainy Day Mum

The Cat in the Hat Breakfast Hash Browns by Growing Book by Book

Cat In The Hat Fine Motor Hats by The Pleasantest Thing

Cat in the Hat Themed: Gross Motor Activity by 3 Dinosaurs

Cat in the Hat Shape Activity by Mom Inspired Life

Cat in the Hat Center of Gravity Preschool Science by Preschool Powol Packets

Sweeping Colors Sorting Activity by Inspiration Laboratories