Candy Chromatography Kit

What dyes make an M&M's® candy orange or a Skittles® candy red? Do all blue candy coatings use the same color dyes? Is black ink really black? Explore the hidden colors of dyes using paper chromatography, a common technique used in chemistry!

The Candy Chromatography kit includes all the chemistry equipment (and candy!) you need to explore the dyes in everyday foods and inks. Start by exploring the dyes in the candies and markers included, and then move on to investigate dyes you find around the house or in nature. To make sure you see the results from each of your experiments, our scientists have specially selected high-quality, lab-grade filter paper that gives clear visual separation of the dyes. So grab some candy and start your chromatography exploration.

Instructions for this kit are available online, see below for links to the instructions and more.

Note: The kit contains enough filter paper to do 40 trials, enough for either of the projects we suggest. If you would like to run extra trials or try both projects, you can purchase extra filter paper strips in packs of 50 (enough to do 100 more trials). Click here to buy filter paper separately. 

You will also need from home:

• Scissors
• Pencil
• Plastic wrap
• Metric ruler
• Measuring cup and container for 4 cups of water
• 1/8 or 1/4 teaspoon (tsp) measuring spoon
• Salt
• Water
• Lab notebook

More Information

• Safety Information (SDS)
• Candy Chromatography Safety Data Sheets (SDS)

Instructions are NOT included with the kit, but are available online from Science Buddies.

Each Candy Chromatography Science Kit contains:

• 2 Plastic transfer pipets
• 1 100 ml plastic beaker
• 1 500 ml plastic beaker
• 20 Filter paper strips, 6" x 3/4"
• 2 90% Isopropyl alcohol, 30 ml
• 5 Wooden splints
• 1 M&M's®, fun size package
• 1 Skittles®, fun size package
• 1 Food coloring, 4 color pack
• 2 Binder clips, small
• 1 Permanent black marker
• 1 Washable black marker
• 1 Black ballpoint pen