Boy Scouts of America

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Create a Rainbow
Bear – 3rd Grade
Super Science
Elective
Requirement 4

Create a Rainbow

Bear – 3rd Grade
Super Science
Elective
Requirement 4

Create a Rainbow

Snapshot of Activity

Cub Scouts create a rainbow using 3 simple ingredients.

Indoor
3
3
2
If you want to know more about The Adventure Activity Key click here.
  • 15 tablespoons of sugar
  • 15 tablespoons of warm water
  • Red, green, blue, and yellow liquid food coloring
  • Six clear cups
  • Spoon
  • Table covering

Before the meeting:

  1. Gather supplies.
  2. Set up meeting space to conduct experiment including covering the tabletop.

During the meeting:

  1. Explain to Cub Scouts that they will be conducting an experiment on density. Density describes how much space an object or substance takes up (its volume) in relation to the amount of matter in that object or substance (its mass). Another way to put it is that density is the amount of mass per unit of volume. If an object is heavy and compact, it has a high density.
  2. Conduct the experiment with Cub Scouts help:
    • Put five cups in a row on the table.
    • Add one tablespoon of sugar to the first cup, two tablespoons to the second cup, three to the third, four to the fourth, and five to the fifth.
    • Add three tablespoons of lukewarm water to each cup. Stir until most of the sugar dissolves.
    • Add a drop or two of food coloring to the first four cups, one color per cup. In the fifth cup, mix two colors.
    • Take the fifth cup (the one with the most sugar) and pour half of its contents into the sixth cup (the one that’s empty). 6. Hold the spoon, bowl side up, against the inside of the sixth cup. Slowly and gently pour half the contents of the fourth cup onto the spoon. (Pouring onto the spoon keeps the two liquids from mixing in the cup.) Do the same thing with the third, second, and first cups.
  3. Lead a discussion with Cub Scouts:
    • What is happening?
    • What is causing the colored water to separate?

Bray Barnes

Director, Global Security Innovative
Strategies

Bray Barnes is a recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award, Silver
Beaver, Silver Antelope, Silver Buffalo, and Learning for Life Distinguished
Service Award. He received the Messengers of Peace Hero award from
the royal family of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and he’s a life member of
the 101st Airborne Association and Vietnam Veterans Association. Barnes
serves as a senior fellow for the Global Federation of Competitiveness
Councils, a nonpartisan network of corporate CEOs, university presidents, and
national laboratory directors. He has also served as a senior executive for the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, leading the first-responder program
and has two U.S. presidential appointments

David Alexander

Managing Member Calje

David Alexander is a Baden-Powell Fellow, Summit Bechtel Reserve philanthropist, and recipient of the Silver Buffalo and Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. He is the founder of Caljet, one of the largest independent motor fuels terminals in the U.S. He has served the Arizona Petroleum Marketers Association, Teen Lifeline, and American Heart Association. A triathlete who has completed hundreds of races, Alexander has also mentored the women’s triathlon team at Arizona State University.

Glenn Adams

President, CEO & Managing Director
Stonetex Oil Corp.

Glenn Adams is a recipient of the Silver Beaver, Silver Antelope, Silver Buffalo, and Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. He is the former president of the National Eagle Scout Association and established the Glenn A. and Melinda W. Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year Award. He has more than 40 years of experience in the oil, gas, and energy fields, including serving as a president, owner, and CEO. Adams has also received multiple service awards from the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers.