Glow-in-the-Dark Rice

We set out on a mission last week and had lots of fun coming up with all sorts of ways to make things glow-in-the-dark.
This glow-in-the-dark rainbow rice was one of our favorites, and you won't believe how easy it is to make! 

 

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How to Make Rice Glow-in-the-Dark

Materials

• White rice
• Zip-seal bags
• Neon paint
• Water

Note:  While it isn't needed I do recommend using a black light for this activity.  Glow-in-the-dark paint will glow without one, but a black-light really intensifies the glow and produces the best result.  You can use a black light fixture or a black light flashlight- both work great!

Method

• Place 1 cup of uncooked, white rice into a large zip-seal bag, using one bag for each color of rice that you wish to make.  
• Add 1 tablespoon of neon paint to each bag. 

• Add roughly 2-3 tablespoons of water.  The water makes the paint runny, which helps it to coat the rice in color while allowing you to use less paint. 
• Seal the bags and then shake, knead, and mix them until the rice is fully saturated in color.

• Once the rice is saturated you can lay it out on cookie sheets for faster drying or simply open the bags and allow the rice to dry just like that!

• It will take roughly 4-6 hours for the colored rice varieties to fully dry.
• The rice may clump together a bit as it dries, but that's ok!  
• Seal the bags and hand them off to the kids to break the rice up before pouring it into a bin for play.

• Add kitchen gadgets, scoopers, and other toys, and the play can begin!

Extend the Fun

• Add glow sticks, glow cups, and other fun glowing items to your rice play bin.

• Have kids practice writing letters, numbers, and words in the rice.  This is a great way to review spelling words.

• Set up a treasure hunt by hiding coins in a bin or rainbow sensory rice.

• Get creative and have fun with it!  The possibility for play and learning are endless!

Also note that this rainbow rice is fun with the lights on, too!

Tips & Storage:  

• Store your rice in sealed jars or bags between play times, and it can be used again and again! 

• If you use fluorescent paint your rice will GLOW under a black light.  
• If you use glow-in-the-dark paint it will glow-in-the-dark, but it will glow much better under a black light.  
• You can find a colorful variety of glow-in-the-dark paints here.  
• The glowing cups that we used can be found here.
• The blacklight fixture that we use in our activities can be purchased on Amazon here.  
• We also love these super cool blacklight flashlights!

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