How to Dye Flowers Different Colours

For a quick introduction to pre-teen to teenage kids ranging 9-13yrs old, this activity brings creativity and life to basic knowledge of capillary action, surface tension, measurements and time lapses. Perfect for those who like the calm and patient approach, this activity is designed to be educational and beautiful.

This activity was created in the context of a challenge I participated in at the Concordia University Innovation Lab under the supervision of Dr. Ann-Louise Davidson, in collaboration with Lower Canada College (Mentor: Alec Mathewson) and Chalet Kent (mentor: Karl-André Saint-Victor).

This activity was created alongside Sut Wing Mok, Tejas Patel, Ahmed Yasser and Leila Rhazi at Concordia University.

Everything you need for this activity can be found right in your kitchen and local flower shop. If you have any white or pale wild flowers growing around your house, feel free to use those too! Here is a short list of all the things you will need, but keep in mind that these are all just suggestions. You can use your creativity to replace them with things that are available to you.

- White flowers (Note: choose flowers without a lot of petals, as that can dilute the dye too much)

- Glass jar/ bottle / cup / (container that can hold up a flower and will not flip over)

- Food Dye (blue, pink, red, and purple recommended for more obvious effects)

- Water

- Recording device (optional)

Estimated time: 10-20 minutes set up - monitor for up to 5-7 days

Let’s start with the flower.

If your flower has roots, remove them.

Next, cut the base of the stem of the flower at a steep 45° angle as shown in the first image.

Measure the flower’s total length so that the petals poke out the top of the container. This will make it easier for you to see the results, and to keep it balanced!

Let’s fill up the container! Add water to about 1/5th the total volume.

Add about 5 drops of dye to this water. Blue, pink, red, and purple are recommended as the colours would be more obvious on the white petals. Add the colour until it’s clearly visible.

Place the flower in the water, and set it aside. Take pictures during this activity, to document the gradual changes over a period of 5-7 days. Be patient because it will take a while! You will start to notice more and more colour differences as time passes. You can also take the flower out as soon as you like, if you prefer a lighter shade!

Note: you should be changing the water and refreshing the dye at least once during this procedure. It’ll help keep it all fresh and healthy.

By day 7, the petal’s colour should be completely changed.

At the end of the activity, learners grasp what capillary action means. This is when the dyed liquid rises and falls in the stem of the flower as a result of the surface tension of the water! Let the learners present an experiment with cutting their flowers at different parts, keeping or cutting the roots or its reaction to different chemicals in the water.

- Separate stems into two sides, either half goes into separate bottles (ie left bottle is yellow right bottle is blue?)

- Arduino water sensor

- Detect how much water is absorbed + how much of it is dye

- How often you have to rewater based on how much water the flowers take in