Place M&Ms in a flat, white dish, add enough water to cover the bottom half of the M&Ms and in a few minutes...
...the dye will dissolve off the M&Ms and create multicolored flowers. This is an activity many children find entertaining. Here's a few hints to make it even better.
Avoid using too many brown M&Ms. They darken the pattern. Most children prefer bright colors. For the same reason, try not to put reds next to blues or greens. These colors mix and turn muddy. Pour the water in as gently as possible to prevent the M&Ms from being washes away in the flood. This can be hard for children, so consider covering the end of a water bottle with a paper kitchen towel and rubber banding it in place. Water will only flow out when the sides of the bottle are squeezed, and then only gently.
Place yellow M&Ms between other colors to keep them from mixing.
Skittles candies are also supposed to work, but in the following test with M&Ms on the left and Skittles on the right...
...I found the M&Ms provided more colors and that they're brighter.
Grouping colors intensifies their effect. Finally, arrange the M&Ms in creative patterns to see what happens. Here are some examples:
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