Welcome to our Halloween density demonstration. Density is actually a very cool concept to explore and leads to lots of fun, creative science opportunities too.
What do you think of our creepy liquid layers?
What you need to make a density tower
Treacle
Golden Syrup
Water
Food colouring
Vegetable Oil
Small items to test for floating
Density Tower Instructions
Pour each liquid into the glass slowly starting with the treacle, then the golden syrup, followed by the water with added food colouring and finally the vegetable oil.
Drop a few small items in and see which layer they float on.
You can see in the image above that we have a plastic bug floating on the top, a LEGO brick floating on the water and a paper clip floating on the treacle. Why do they do this?
FREE Science Experiment Instructions
Why does a density tower work?
For a full explanation see my floating and density post.
We’d love to see your creepy or even very pretty density creations.
If you liked this spooky activity, you’ll love our collection of Halloween science experiments, including making fake blood, spooky potions and lots more creepy science for kids!
Don’t forget to check out our other fun science activities for children too!
You might also like my new book Gross Science which is out just in time for Halloween 2020 – slightly later in the UK!
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Last Updated on September 28, 2022 by Emma Vanstone
treacle is molasses
thanks! i was just about to google that!
Thanks, Donna! I assume corn syrup can sub for the golden, since that isn’t readily available in the states either. (My favorite granola recipe calls for Lyle’s and I’ve been wondering if it’s worth ordering…currently I sub honey.)
Oooh YUK! 🙂
Thanks for sharing on Kids Get Crafty!
Maggy
Ha ha, we like yuck!
So neat!! Thank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday!
I know this sounds stupid, but I just want to make sure that I understand correctly. The molasses won’t mix with the corn syrup? Even if a child shakes it?