“Floating” Art

Join Educator Hilary as she shows you a magical way to make your drawing FLOAT!

Published on September 28, 2020

Floating Art _picture

Materials:

Glass or ceramic plate or low bowl

Dry-Erase marker (Dark colors work best)

Cup of Water

Step 1: Draw a simple picture or a few words on your plate with the dry-erase marker. Press down lightly when drawing the image.

Step 2: Slowly pour room temperature water from the side of the plate. Do not pour directly onto images.

Step 3: Watch as the water lifts the images right off the plate. They will float!

What’s the science behind it?

The dry-erase ink in the marker is insoluble. Because of this, the water buoyancy easily pulls the ink right off the plate, allowing the images to float around!

  • Insoluble: not able to dissolve and has very little adhesive.
  • Buoyancy: the ability to float in water.