Colours

Let’s take a few moments and see what we can learn about colours today. Our Primary colours are responsible for all of the many different colours in our world. We can explore the wonderful world of shades and colours when we mix some Primary colours together.  

• Did you know that hundreds of colours like royal blues, emerald greens, pinks, and black are all created from just a few Primary colours?
• Did you know that Royal Blue is really made of 3 colours instead of just one?

Here is an experiment you can do right at home, but make sure to use newspapers to cover the table first. 

Our 3 Primary colours are
• Red
• Yellow
• Blue

We can mix some paint or food colouring that comes in these colours with plain white milk that we have placed in different cups. You can always use water instead of milk, but since we are working on learning about colours, I thought you might like to use a little white milk instead of colourless water. 

White is not considered a true colour; it is what happens when there is no colour. In this experiment, it helps us see the mixing of the colours much clearer. You will only need about ¼ cup of milk in each cup to experiment with colours. Just use a few drops of the food colouring or paint to create your colours in the cups of milk.

Now we can create Secondary colours.  Secondary colours are made by mixing 2 Primary colours together. Here are the Secondary colours and the 2 Primary colours that you need in order to make them.  When you mix the two Primary colours just use one drop of each to start then you can add more drops of each colour and see how the Secondary colours change shades.

• Orange- red and yellow
• Green- blue and yellow
• Purple- red and blue

*When you mix colours to make Secondary colours the colours used must be true Primary colours. You cannot use different shades of red, blue, or yellow and expect the same results.

When you mix 3 Primary colours together, you get Tertiary colours. These include browns and blacks. Black is made by mixing equal parts of red, yellow, and blue. You can experiment with different combinations and write down the results that you get.

People use colours to describe emotions and feelings. Red is used to describe love and anger. Blue is used to describe cold, but it also describes a person who is sad. Yellow is used to describe sunny, happy days but it is also used to describe someone who is not very brave. 

Colour Vision for Animals and People

Animals have limited colour vision and some animals only see the world in shades of black and grey. Even people can have problems seeing colours. Some people are colour blind, which limits their ability to distinguish different colours. People who have red-green colour blindness, for example, are unable to tell these two colours apart, and dogs seem to have this same type of colour blindness.

• Scientists know that humans and primates have very highly developed colour vision.
• Birds, fish and insects also have very good colour vision. Their range of ultraviolet vision is very well developed.
• Honeybees cannot distinguish the colour red very well. Caterpillars have eyespots that let them see dark and light.
• The most complex eye is not found in the housefly or the bee, but in the Mantis Shrimp that lives deep in the ocean. 

This is an original news article © The Kids Window

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