This is a classic science lab idea that I have reformatted to be used in an interactive science notebook. If you don’t do interactive notebooks in science, you can use the lab sheet and simply attach the pocket to the back! This lab requires very few materials (all of which you can find at your local dollar store). I copy the pages at 85% zoom on the copy machine so they fit nicely into our notebooks. We glue the “What is Chromatography?” page to the lab sheet (only on the top of the page) so it flips up. Glue the lab sheet down to the notebook completely. The pocket is then attached to the opposite page (I project the “what happened?” page and students use it to write the explanation of the experiment in their own words on the pocket.

I am always looking for opportunities to get my kids doing science! Having some of these experiments with background science information in their science notebooks is a great resource for the kids to use throughout the year as we do other assignments. I know science can be expensive, so I am doing a series of these experiments based on items that can be found cheaply at the dollar store! Stay tuned for more!