Glowing JELLO Experiment

I love trying new things.  So far the boys have been thrilled with all of the ways we've played with GLOW WATER.  Trying to think about what other sensory play we could incorporate with GLOW WATER, I remembered how much the J boys loved our Jello Sensory Bin.  I decided to make some Glowing Jello!  We used tonic water under a black light for the first time when we played with Glowing Ice.  I thought it would be fun to set up a little experiment.

I poured six packs of jello mix into containers, two of three difference flavors.

I added GLOW WATER to one container of each flavor and tonic water to the remaining.

I followed the recipe on the jello boxes, substituting GLOW WATER and tonic water when the recipe called for water. 

I added the hot myself, and the boys poured in the cold water.

The boys loved helping me stir.

That batch sure does glow!

While mixing the jello I asked the boys to make guesses about which colors and which kind of water would glow more.  

While we were mixing they were very curious about tonic water, so I gave them each a little taste.

Here they are in liquid form. I posted this photo on my Facebook page the other day and asked my readers to guess. Tonic water received the most votes. In all honesty, I thought the tonic water would make the jello glow more than it did. I googled "glow in the dark jello", and the images that came up were much brighter than our tonic water jello.

The VERDICT:

It was no contest really.  The orange jello made with GLOW WATER came close, although the above photo doesn't show it well.  In general, lime jello is your best option for the best glow.

Tonic water lime:

GLOW WATER lime:

GLOW WATER orange:

This experiment certainly won the approval of my little scientists!

With longer daylight hours, we've been sticking to the downstairs bathroom for our black light play.  I prop the black light on the bathroom counter facing down, and I instruct the boys not to look up.

I put all the small containers (except the one we kept out to eat) in a larger bin to contain any mess while little fingers explored the cold, wiggly texture.

I hope this goes without saying, but please do not eat the jello made with GLOW WATER.  For a tasty treat in the dark, enjoy some tonic water infused jello.  We did!

If you enjoy black light play, be sure and see what else we've made glow:  Ice, Water Beads, Homemade Paint, and Oobleck.

Stay in touch with Train Up a Child via Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest.