Naughty or nice test

Will Santa visit you on Christmas Eve? Using a few materials from around the house, along with a special paper from Santa, you can determine if you have been naughty or nice.

Materials

* White copy paper

* White crayon

* Red and green watercolor paint

* Paintbrushes

Instructions

STEP 1: Using the white crayon, write naughty or nice on a piece of white copy paper.

STEP 2: Using the red or green watercolor paint, paint over the word naughty or nice and observe.

Explanation

This is the same technique Santa uses when sending children those special naughty or nice notes. The word naughty or nice appears since the crayon is hydrophobic, which means it is scared of water. Basically, the crayon repels the water and watercolor paint. The paper is hydrophilic, which means it loves water. Therefore, the watercolor paint fills the area not covered with crayon.

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