Peyton (our 11 year old) loves school projects where he gets to use his creativity. In 4th grade, he had to create a 3D animal and he chose a paper mache diamondback rattlesnake, which turned out SO cool. This time, he had to create a 3D model of the layers of the earth (6th-grade science) and he chose to use dyed rice in a mason jar.
How to Make the Layers of the Earth with Colored Rice
What you need:
- 2 cups of white rice
- 2.5 teaspoons of white vinegar
- Food coloring (yellow, orange, red, green, brown)
- 16 oz. mason jar
- Ziploc bags (any size) – one bag per color
- Paper towel — *You’ll be mad if you don’t check out this AMAZING deal I found on paper towel!!*
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How to Make it:
- Divide 2 cups of uncooked rice into 5 parts. The parts should be divided based on the sizes of each layer of the earth… some will be smaller than others.
- Add each of the 5 parts into individual Ziploc bags and add 1/2 teaspoon of white vinegar to each.
- Then, begin adding the food coloring to each bag. The amount of food coloring you use will depend on how you want the colors to look.
- Dump each color out onto a dry paper towel, keeping all colors separate.
- Allow the dyed rice to dry for one hour.
- Pour the dyed rice into a 16 oz. mason jar, beginning with the innermost layer of the earth. In Peyton’s case, this was the inner core, which he made yellow and poured into the bottom of the jar.
- Pour each additional layer on top of that one, working from the inside layers to the outside layers. The outermost layers will be at the top of your jar.
- Put the lid on, and your layers of the earth project is complete!
Layers of the Earth Used in this Project
- Yellow: bottom layer, inner core
- Orange: 2nd from the bottom, outer core
- Red: 3rd from the bottom, lower mantle
- Green: 4th from the bottom, upper mantle
- Brown: top layer, crust
Tips:
*Fill the mason jar ALL the way to the top with rice. This prevents the rice from moving around and mixing together. You’ll want to keep your colors separate, as those represent the layers of the earth.
*Distribute the rice to 5 bags before dying any. Determine which bag of rice will be making up which layer, and write it on the outside of the bag. This way, your largest layer (the upper mantel in Peyton’s case) has the most rice in the bag and it doesn’t get mixed up with a different layer.
*—->This<—- pack of food coloring is the exact one I bought for this project. It contains all the colors Peyton needed plus some additional colors, too.
Other Ideas for Layers of the Earth 3D Project
His original idea was to use 5 different colors of glitter, which I thought would have looked super cool. He changed his mind and decided on the rice model instead, however.
Some other ideas include:
- Styrofoam ball
- Play-doh or clay
- Colored sand
- Glitter
- Cake
Final Thoughts on Layers of the Earth 3D Project
I’m always so excited when Peyton is assigned a school project. He is SO creative and has so much fun with them.
What project would you create if you were to make a 3D model symbolizing the layers of the earth? Tell me about it in the comments!
This is a really cute idea and my kids would probably enjoy doing it. Plus, I could pull this off, ha. They once asked if we could make a cake showing the layers of the earth, and I don’t know if have that kind of skill. Thank you for sharing.
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Oh a cake would be so cool!! Much trickier, however. Thanks for the comment 🙂
Very cute idea and budget friendly too. It looks easy and fun project to make with your kids.
Yep!! It was perfect in every way. Thanks for reading.
Really love this idea. We’re huge fans of coloured rice here! So many uses.
The uses are limitless! Thanks for reading 🙂