Salt Glue Watercolor Experiment

Materials: a bottle of white glue, table salt, liquid watercolors or food coloring mixed with a few drops of water, cardstock or construction paper or cardboard, Pipettes/droppers, paint pallet or ice cube tray, baking dish/shallow pan/box (large enough to hold your piece of paper) 

Apply a generous amount of glue in thick, fluid lines, squiggles, dots and spirals, etc. Letters and names are great too. Next, place the paper in the baking pan or box, and have children sprinkle salt over their drawings. Cover the glue well, and then as an added measure, give the pan a good shake to make sure every last bit of glue is coated with salt. Remove the paper from the pan and shake off any excess salt before returning the paper to your work surface. Using a pipette, have children drip the watercolors on to their designs, one drop at a time. This part of the process is really thrilling. It’s amazing to see how far the watercolors spread as they’re absorbed by the grains of salt. Drop by drop, your kids will transform their white, salt drawings into vibrant, colorful designs.

*Note that these works of art are not long-lasting as the salt will crumble and comes away from the glue, even when dry.