Rainbow Paper Experiment

Materials: Bowl filled with water, clear nail polish, gloves for kids, small pieces of black paper 

Add 1-2 drops of clear nail polish to the bowl of water. Watch it disperse over the surface of the water 

Quickly dip the paper into the water. Let it dry on a paper towel.
Once it is dry (this only takes a few minutes) tilt the paper in different directions to see the rainbow patterns appear. Hold it next to a sunny window for best results.  

NOTE: The nail polish will dry quickly on the surface of the water, which will create a film that won’t stick to the paper. To do this activity successfully you will need to do it quickly. Be sure to dip the paper into the water within 10-15 seconds after you drop the nail polish in. If the nail polish does create a dry film on top, simply scoop it off and try again more quickly 

How Does Rainbow Paper Work? 

When you dip the paper into the water it gets coated with a thin layer of nail polish. Light is reflected by the nail polish, creating rainbow patterns. This is basically the same thing that happens when a rainbow is naturally formed in the sky. 

Try to find each of the following colors on your rainbow paper: red. orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. White light is composed of all of these colors!