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18 Cool Color Theory Activities 

March 9, 2023 //  by Mhairi Sim

Color theory is a fundamental aspect of art class for kindergarten and elementary school students. The concept of mixing colors together to create new colors is recognized by kids early on, but how do we keep this learning engaging and exciting for students as they spend more time on this subject? From unique art projects to science investigations and experiments, we have gathered 18 of the coolest color theory activities that your students will be talking about all week! Read on to discover more.

1. Make a Color Mixing Record

Your students can mix their favorite colors and record the results on this free printable mixing chart. This activity is a super way for students to explore different color combinations.

Learn More: No Time for Flashcards

2. Create a Play-Dough Color Wheel

Put a new and tactile spin on the traditional color wheel activity. Start with the primary colors of play dough and then show your students how to mix different colors to fill in the spaces on their wheels.

Learn More: Deep Space Sparkle

3. Squishy Bag Experiment

Mixing Primary colours squishy bag experiment - follow on activity from the book Little Yellow and Little Blue

This activity is a fantastic way of teaching colors and blending colors to your kindergarten students. Pour some paint into zip lock bags, keeping them separate, and then let your students mix them up, creating these cool squishy bags for color discoveries! 

Learn More: Learning 4 Kids

4. Get Messy With Hand Print Color Mixing

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A post shared by Another Day in Pre-K (@another_day_in_prek)

Little ones will love this hand-painting activity which is a fun way to record their color-mixing discoveries. Paint each hand a different color, and once they have printed them individually, students can then rub their hands together to mix the paint and create a new color.

Learn More: @another_day_in_prek

5. Create Color Mixing Ladybugs

In this basic color theory activity, students will create cute ladybugs that show what secondary colors are made when we mix each of the primary colors.

Learn More: Homeschool Compass

6. Make a DIY Paper Plate Color Wheel

Paper plate colour wheel for kids - Happy Hooligans

Ensuring your kindergartners know their primary and secondary colors is a super first step in color theory learning. This paper plate craft is the perfect way for them to display this learning as they place the colors in the correct places to reflect on how the primary colors mix to create the secondary colors between them.

Learn More: Happy Hooligans

7. Color Wheel Activity Pack

This free printable pack is a fantastic way to support your students on their color learning journeys. Use paint or colored pencils to complete these sheets, which cover learning about primary and secondary colors and color wheels. 

Learn More: Little Bins for Little Hands

8. Collaborate on a Mix It Up Art Project

Have you read this book?  I love it for doing color mixing art activities with my toddlers.

Mix It Up is a fantastic book all about mixing colors to create new ones! This accompanying activity is a super way to start a color-mixing challenge with your students, and they can be guided by each page of the book.

Learn More: Sara J Creations

9. Experiment with Color Mixing

color mixing toddler science

Students love getting to experiment, and this task will be no exception! Color some water with food dye or paint and let your students have a go at mixing different colors to see what new colors they can create. 

Learn More: Busy Toddler

10. Investigate Melting and Color Mixing

Color mixing activity using colored ice cubes to show children how the three primary colors of magenta (red), cyan (blue), and yellow mix to make the three secondary colors of orange, green, and purple. Great hands-on science for kids! Perfect for preschool or kindergarten lessons on colors and color mixing. #preschool #kindergarten #colors #colormixing #ece #handsonscience || Gift of Curiosity

Use an ice cube tray to freeze water with liquid watercolors added in to prep for this hands-on experiment. Students can then set up their experiments by placing two different colored ice cubes in a tray and watching what happens when the ice melts.

Learn More: Gift of Curiosity

11. Cool Walking Water Experiment

Create a cool science experiment color wheel with this walking water activity. Follow the steps in the video to amaze your students when their liquid primary colors magically walk from their cups into the empty cups and create secondary colors!

Learn More: KITCHEN SCIENCE LAB

12. Investigate Color Mixing With Watercolors

rainbow water color art craft for kids pin image

This relaxing activity is super for students to explore different color mixes whilst creating their own unique artwork. Start each student off with basic colors and see how many new colors they can mix up.

Learn More: Made with Happy

13. Learn The Basics About Color Theory

Start your color theory lesson with this super video explaining some of the different concepts of color theory for older elementary students. The video covers primary colors, secondary colors, tertiary colors, tone, hue, shade, and more. 

Learn More: Simple Art Tips

14. Enjoy a Cute Color Mixing Experiment

fun with color mixing tissue paper hearts - a wonderful STEAM project for kids (7)

See the basics of color theory and mixing in action with this cute love heart experiment. Cut out some bleeding tissue paper hearts in the primary colors and then let students lay them so that they overlap and cover them in a water/glue mixture to see the mixing magic begin!

Learn More: Red Ted Art

15. Newton’s Disc Experiment

It’s easy to make links to STEM when teaching colors to your upper elementary school class when you use Newton’s Disc experiment. This experiment demonstrates that white light is the mixing of all colors of the rainbow. Students can make their very own disc and see this phenomenon for themselves. 

Learn More: Go Science Girls

16. Put a New Spin on a Color Wheel

Let your students demonstrate what they have learned about color theory and create this abstract color wheel with your students. This activity is a fantastic opportunity to combine color theory learning with creative flair. 

Learn More: Mr Mac Art Teacher

17. Explore the Science of Color With a Craft

Upper elementary art students can create their very own color combinations in this cool activity that explores color saturation and intensity. By overlapping different colors and shades of colored plastic, students can observe how colors can appear to change based on their surroundings.

Learn More: GluckTV UCR

18. Color Mixing Grids

art activities with color mixing

Students can start by painting the primary colors in rows on a sheet of construction paper. They then paint the same colors the opposite way and can observe the different mixes. By the end of the activity, students should have all the primary and secondary colors on their pages.

Learn More: Fun Littles

Related posts:

55 Inspiring Chapter Books for Your 4th Grade Readers
37 Rhythm Stick Activities for Elementary School
20 Fun and Zany Letter "Z" Activities for Preschoolers

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