Hooked on Science: Valentine's Day carnations

Using a few ingredients from around the house, you can add a touch of science to your Valentine's Day gift.

Materials

* One white carnation

* Transparent glass

* Water

* Red food coloring

Instructions

STEP 1: Fill the transparent glass half full of water and add red food coloring.

STEP 2: Cut the stem of the carnation at an angle and place the carnation in the drinking glass for 24 hours.

Explanation

The colored water moved up the stem into the petals and changed the color of the carnation from white to red.

Jason Lindsey is a science outreach educator with Hooked on Science. Check out his website www.hookedonscience.org for webcasts and experiments.