Paper Towel Magic

 
 

(courtesy of TheDadLab)

Here is a "magic" trick you can do to excite and delight your children! You can hide pictures or messages on paper towels and all you need is a little water to let the hidden messages appear right before their eyes! 

***If you need visual instructions for this activity, The Dad Lab has a great example on their YouTube channel. You can watch it here!***

You Need:

  • Water

  • Paper Towels

  • Permanent Marker (black)

  • Colorful Markers

  • A cake pan or dish for the water

To Make:

  1. Fold one sheet of a paper towel in half.

  2. On only one side, draw the outline of a picture in black sharpie

  3. Open the paper towel and trace the picture of your drawing onto the other side. 

  4. Unfold the paper and color the back-side (the side that you did second) with regular felt tipped colored markers.

  5. Fold the paper back over to hide your colors. 

  6. Now with the non-colored side facing up, place the paper towel into water and watch the rainbow experiment begin as the colors begin to appear. The paper towel will quickly absorb the water and reveal the whole picture! 

Napp Network