DIY pH Test with Tie-Dye Effect

Use Science to Tie Dye! (It's a pH test!)⁠ ⁠ ITEMS NEEDED TO MAKE THE TEST SHEETS:⁠ Red Cabbage (yes, it *has* to be red).⁠ Super tough paper towels (like Viva). Regular ones disintegrate.⁠ ⁠ PREPARATION:⁠ Chop the cabbage and boil it. ⁠ ⁠ We filled out crockpot, plugged it in outside – the smell is something else – filled it with water, and came back after a couple of hours.⁠ ⁠ Strain the cabbage out. ⁠ ⁠ You should have dark purple dye remaining. Soak the paper towels in the dye. ⁠ ⁠ Hang them to dry in a place where they won’t be disturbed (and is generally chemical-free – i.e. not in the laundry room if you are like me and store cleaners in there).⁠ ⁠ When the towels dry you they should have a very faint, uniform purple color.⁠ ⁠ DOING THE PH TEST:⁠ Is it Acid, or is it Base?⁠ ⁠ We collected a “buffet” of items from our kitchens to do the test. ⁠ ⁠ We had slices of grapefruit, potato water, pancake syrup, solutions of baking powder, baking soda, borax and laundry detergent. Then we had containers of vinegar, lime juice, apple juice, milk of magnesium, tummy antacid, vitamin C pills, two different brands of toothpaste, dish soap, windex and more.⁠ ⁠ The kids took one drop from the various solutions and dripped them onto their paper towel “test sheet”.⁠ ⁠ The more acid that was in the solution, the brighter the red/pink. And if a solution was alkaline (or base) it would leave a blue green color⁠ ⁠ Warning: This is a stinky one! As you are using testing chemicals, make sure your children are old enough to follow directions or are supervised!