Chromatography in Year 3

Year 3 returned from lunch to find a mystery waiting for them — the glue sticks had vanished, and a handwritten note had been left behind. Their challenge was to use chromatography to work out which pen had written the note and uncover the culprit.

To investigate, the children placed a small dot of ink from each suspect pen onto a piece of paper towel. Using pipettes, they carefully added drops of water and watched as the colours in the ink began to separate and spread. Each group compared the patterns created by the different pens with the ink from the note, looking closely at how the colours travelled through the paper.

After some impressive scientific detective work, every group concluded that Pen Number 1 — the handwriting pen — was responsible. The children were fascinated by the colourful ink patterns and thoroughly enjoyed this hands‑on introduction to chromatography and problem‑solving.