Workshops

Holiday workshops: Colour chemistry (ages 12–14)

Discover what a colour actually is, understand how objects become coloured, and how Chemists can manipulate these aspects to produce dyes.

Two students experimenting with pH paper
Image credit: Katherine Leedale

In this workshop students will discover what a colour actually is, understand how objects become coloured, and how chemists can manipulate these aspects to produce dyes and pigments.

The session will begin with a brief overview of light and colour mixing. This leads on to a discussion of how colour arises through removal of specific wavelengths of light, and both additive and subtractive colour mixing. The students then discover how chemical bonding can lead to colour, and they produce both natural and synthetic dyes. The final part of the workshop pitches the students against a ‘real-life’ analytical chemistry scenario during which they will devise their own experiment using aspects of concentration, pH and colourimetry to solve a colourful problem.

This workshop is strictly for 12–14 year-olds and will include a 30 minute lunch break. Students should bring lunch and a drink.

Refunds can only be issued for tickets cancelled at least two weeks (14 calendar days) in advance of the event date. Please note that this supersedes our normal event terms and conditions.

About the L'Oréal Young Scientist Centre

The L'Oréal Young Scientist Centre (LYSC) is an imaginative science laboratory at the heart of the Ri, where young people aged 7–18 can experiment and explore science and technology outside the classroom. In an LYSC workshop, students become a scientist for the day, testing their own ideas by designing creative experiments. The whole experience ignites a passion for scientific discovery and encourages curiosity-driven learning.

Students are given the time and space to experiment. Not constrained by time to produce a ‘right’ result, students work as professional research scientists do: in response to their observations, encouraging curiosity-driven learning. And just as in the best research laboratories, students have access to advanced technology and experiments outside the remit of the normal school curriculum, making this an experience to remember.

For any queries regarding this workshop please get in touch by phone 020 7409 2992 or email events@ri.ac.uk.

Support to attend holiday workshops

The Potential Trust may be able to offer financial assistance to enable children to participate in Ri events and activities if this would otherwise be financially difficult. Please contact Anna Comino-James preferably via telephone on +44 (0)1844 351666, or at their new email address potentialtrust@gmail.com. Once a bursary is agreed, you will make your workshop bookings directly with the Ri.

Event terms and conditions