The story of Noah is so interesting to kids. From the animals, to the ark, to the beautiful rainbow as the sign of God’s covenant; the story of Noah is full of interesting elements to keep kids attention. Drive home the point of the rainbow by using this cool experiment with kids. Download the teaching picture and Bible story summary here.
Before the Activity:
o What are some of your favorite colors? What are some colors that we see in the sky?
o Why do rainbows exist?
o Today we will study the story of Noah and the Ark.
Items needed:
o Whole milk
o Food color
o Cotton swabs
o Dish detergent
o Pan
o Watercolor paper (Optional)
Instructions:
o Pour whole milk into a pan to a depth of 1–2 centimeters.
o Add drops of the different colors of the food color to different places in the milk.
o Add a dab of detergent to the end of the cotton swab. Touch the cotton swab to the middle of the coloring. Watch the reaction.
o If desired, when you have created a “masterpiece” of color, take a piece of watercolor paper and place it over the milk mixture and lift quickly.
o Allow watercolor paper to dry.
o After a few minutes the colors will run together and get muddy. Just dump and start over.
What happened:
o Whole milk contains fat. The food color actually rests on top of the fat. The dish detergent contains degreasers that break down the fat particles. When the detergent hits the fat, it separates causing the colors to move.
Bible Story Connection:
o Noah and the Ark (Genesis 6:5–9:17)
o Connection Point: God created a beautiful rainbow to remind Noah and his family of the covenant that He made to never flood the earth with water again. Kids can make beautiful rainbow creations to remind them of God’s covenant.
After the Story/Activity:
o How did you create your rainbow art?
o How did God create His rainbow?
o How long did this experiment last? How long does God’s covenant last?
Jeff Land loves Life! That’s pretty great, because his job here at Lifeway is the Team Leader for Bible Studies for Life: Kids. Jeff loves his life which is so blessed by his amazing wife, Abbey, and their four sons, Reed, Nash, Will, and Tuck. A natural encourager and fun-lover, look for Jeff’s posts about teacher appreciation and game ideas. When not serving at work, Jeff serves 2nd graders at his church, First Baptist Church, Joelton, TN.
