Siphon With Suction and Gravity!

What You Need:

• 2 gallon-sized juice bottles, (clear and clean)
• Clear tubing, 2 feet in length
• Water
• Food coloring
• Towels

What You Do:

1. Have your child place one of the bottles on a low surface, such a chair or the floor. Ask her to hold the empty bottle so it doesn't move.
2. Fill the other bottle with water halfway. Mix a few drops of food coloring into the water.
3. Make sure the bottle with water is at a slight elevation in comparison to the empty bottle. Take one end of the tube and place it in the water.
4. With the other end of the tube, draw it to your lips and suck on the tube like a straw until water reaches your lips. Then quickly put your thumb on the end of the tube and put it down into the empty bottle.
5. As the water flows into the empty bottle, ask your child if the water is moving up or down. What's making the water move? What could be pulling, or pushing it inside the tube?
6. Let your child try! It may take a few tries to get it right, but she'll soon be on her way to becoming a little engineer.

Helpful Hint: Make sure there aren't any air bubbles in the tube, or it may hinder the siphon.