Make your own markers: A practical color mixing lesson

Recently, we did a practical color mixing lesson by making our very own markers! It was a wonderful and practical way to learn the science of color mixing while the kids created functional markers they can use for their various projects.

Note: For more activities that teach colors, see my Teaching Colors to Kids page. 

I really love doing color science activities with kids. Learning how the primary colors mix to form secondary colors can be such a magical learning experience for young children. And I love how color mixing activities bring together both science and art.

My kids were fortunate to receive a Crayola Marker Maker from my parents. We have used it several times, and my kids are always happy to see me pull it out for some marker making fun.

The Crayola Marker Maker comes with all the supplies you need to make 16 markers. (We have since bought the Marker Refill Pack so we can make even more markers.)

We started by reviewing the included color mixing chart so my kids can see how many drops of red, blue, or yellow they need to mix together the color they want.

Then they began adding drops of ink to the graduated cylinders, carefully counting how many drops of each color they added.

In the meantime, I gathered the parts they needed to make a marker: a barrel, tip, end cap, core, and cap.

Once they finished adding ink to the graduated cylinders, they slowly inserted a spongy core into the ink.

After a minute or two, we could see that the core had soaked up the ink.

Then they assembled their markers using the press that comes with the Crayola Marker Maker kit.

Then came the really fun part!

The kids tested their markers to see what colors they had made. Based on the colors, they came up with creative color names, and we added labels to the markers with those names.

On this particular day, the three of us named our colors Purple Thunderjet, Hot Jet, and Firebolt.

Now the markers are part of our marker collection. But these markers are extra special because we made them ourselves. And I love that this activity gives kids a practical opportunity to put their knowledge of color mixing to use.

More resources for teaching colors

More color mixing posts from Gift of Curiosity:

• Fun with color mixing
• Color theory for preschoolers
• Color mixing science with liquid watercolors
• Color mixing rainbow challenge
• No mess color mixing fun

For more activities that teach colors, see my Teaching Colors to Kids page and my Learning Colors Pinterest board.