Science Experiments: Coloring Flowers and Sense of Smell

Well, ever since Serenity's birthday last week, we've been doing science experiments nearly every day!  (I promise I'm going to write and post about the party very soon!  I just have to catch up on their baby journals first)  Anyway, today we had two experiments, mostly using our great test tube set from Oriental Trading. The first was the Sense of Smell!

I went around the house collecting different smelly things, like perfume, coffee, vanilla, almond extract, lemon zest, cinnamon, curry, etc.  The liquids I squirted onto a cotton ball, and then put each thing in a test tube.  Serenity and her Daddy took turns guessing the scents with their eyes closed.  Of course, Daddy was better about keeping his eyes closed, but they both enjoyed the experiment!  I turned Serenity loose with the ingredients for the rest of the day, and she had a blast adding water, mixing spices, and creating all kinds of crazy concoctions!  She did taste some, so next time maybe I'll make them all edible as I just hope she didn't drink any of the water she added to the perfume vial. 

The next experiment we really just set up tonight, hopefully we will see interesting results in the morning!  I picked up a bunch of carnations and a stalk of celery.  We filled test tubes and beakers with colored water and put one flower or stalk of celery in each.  Tomorrow we can talk about how plants absorb water!  I LOVE this experiment!  I almost made it as a centerpiece for the science party, and then I remembered that we weren't really planning to ever sit down for the party. =)  I know, I'm a tease, but I'll share party details soon!