Colour-Drinking Celery

Ages 5+ with an adult10 minutes to set up, then wait overnightMess: Low (food colouring can stain)

Grown-ups: please supervise this experiment the whole time. Read the safety notes first.

Put a stick of celery in coloured water and watch the colour climb up into the leaves.

WOW FACT

Tall trees lift water from their roots to their highest leaves in the same way: as water evaporates from the leaves, more is pulled up through the tubes below.

🧰 What you'll need

Celery sticks with leavesFrom the fridge or any supermarket.
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Clear glasses or jarsSo you can see the coloured water.
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WaterStraight from the tap.
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Food colouringThe baking-cupboard kind works well.
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A table knife (adult use only)For trimming a fresh cut.
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✨ Want to go further? (optional)

Magnifying glass for kidsLook closely at the coloured dots inside the stalk.
View on Amazon (amazon.co.uk)

Kids' plant growing kitGrow your own plants and keep watching them drink.
View on Amazon (amazon.co.uk)

Children's plant science bookFind out more about how plants live and grow.
View on Amazon (amazon.co.uk)

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What to do

An adult trims the bottom of each celery stick to give a fresh cut.
Half-fill each glass with water and add a good squeeze of food colouring.
Stand a celery stick in each glass, leafy end up.
Predict: what will the leaves look like tomorrow?
Check after a few hours, then again the next day. Look at the leaf edges.
An adult can cut a stick across: look for coloured dots inside the stalk.

What's going on?

Plants pull water up through thin tubes in their stems (called xylem). As water evaporates from the leaves, more is drawn up from below. The food colouring travels with the water, so you can see where it goes.

Safety notes

An adult should do any cutting.
Food colouring stains clothes and surfaces: cover the table.
Don't eat the celery after the experiment.