Spring Butterfly Floating Dry Erase Marker Experiment for Kids

What a fun and magical experience this is for the kids to experience! 

Have you checked out the Floating Hearts experiment we made on Valentines Day? 

We also made fun shapes experiment which was a great early learning experience. 

This time around, we made a butterfly floating dry erase marker STEM experiment for kids this spring and it was loads of fun! 

So much fun! 

Easy to set up with easy items you probably already have around your home. 

Let’s get into it! 

Note: For over 300 activities you can try for kids and on a budget, don’t forget to check out this post! It’s a great one. 

Supplies: 

This post contains affiliate links. 

• Dry Erase Markers

• Green grass craft sheet as the background

• Clear Glass Plate

• Water

• Butterfly stickers

How to make a Floating Dry Erase Marker Science Experiment for Kids Video Tutorial:

How to: Floating Dry Erase Marker Experiment

Simple!

So easy you may call your friend or family member in another country to show them how easy this magical experiment is! 😀

These are the steps we took to make this floating dry erase marker experiment come to life:

• Draw a butterfly on your glass plate. 

• I make sure I am not removing the marker from the plate when I draw the butterfly as this will cause the butterfly to break apart when you add in your water. 

• Then, pour water onto your plate making sure to pour very slowly. 

• Watch as the dry erase marker unfolds and comes to the surface and floats around. 

• Use a straw to blow the dry erase marker butterflies around the water making sure the straw does not touch the water. 

Note: Please supervise when trying this experiment or any experiments on Active Littles.com

Why does dry erase ink float on water? 

The marker contains ink within it that is insoluble. 

When water is poured onto dry erase marker marks on a plate, the buoyancy the water brings causes the ink to become less sticky causing the marker to float to the surface. 

This allows for the magic to happen. 🙂

My girls were so amazed at how this stem activity worked out! 

How to draw on water with dry erase markers

Magic water marker explained:

You do not necessarily draw on the water. 

The water comes after. 

Drawing on the plate and then pouring the water allows for the water to pull the dry erase marker upward thereafter. 

Looking for more dry erase floating ink experiments you can try at home? 

This expo marker drawings easy activity has been attempted by us 2 other times: 

Here is one floating dry erase marker activity we attempted on Valentines Day: 

Floating Dry Erase Marker Experiment for Kids – Valentine’s Day 

This one I made educational for my girls and includes floating shapes and rainbows: 

Floating Dry Erase Rainbow and Shapes Experiment  

All it really takes is dry erase markers and a glass/ceramic plate for this stem activity for kids’ magic to take place right at home or in a school setting! 

Tell me, have you tried this easy peasy STEM activity before? 

What other fun STEM activities have you tried with your littles? 

Leave me a comment below, letting me know 🙂