There’s something about rainbows that makes people happy, smile and feel good when they see them. In anxious times we definitely need these colourful rainbow activities for kids, that are guaranteed to cheer everyone up!

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Rainbows are a cheerful response to rain clouds and seeing them in the sky makes you feel better about a rainy day.

Then there’s the old myth that the leprechaun’s pot of gold is hidden at the end of the rainbow!

Rainbows signify hope and optimism, so these rainbow activities for kids are bound to improve everyone’s mood!

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Fun Rainbow Activities For Kids

What Are Rainbows?

A rainbow is caused when light is reflected, refracted and dispersed by water droplets (rain), resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky.

Rainbows appear as multicoloured circular arcs in the sky, and rainbows caused by sunlight always appear in the section of sky directly opposite the sun.

Rainbow Experiments: Make Your Own Rainbow

Fancy some science fun? What about trying your hand at making your own colourful creation with these simple rainbow experiments.

For the first one from Champak you’ll need:

• Water
• A bowl
• A small mirror
• A torch or a phone switched to the flashlight setting

Here’s another one using markers and a paper towel to make a rainbow that inches towards the sky!

You will need:

• A paper towel
• Water-based markers in rainbow colours (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue and Violet)
• Water
• A shallow dish
• Paper clip
• Thread

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Create a Rainbow For Your Window

Rainbow pictures have been appearing in windows since the COVID-19 school closures – and what a wonderful way to brighten up spirits!

Kids have been creating and making rainbow pictures to help spread hope, make people smile and show that we are all together.

Why not make a rainbow for your front window? And when you’re out for a walk, see how many you can spy.

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Try Our Fun Rainbow Scavenger Hunt

Have you ever been on a rainbow colour hunt? It’s a great way to get the kids active and exploring. You can download our free Rainbow Scavenger Hunt here, then just print it out and let the kids go searching.

Searching for the rainbow items can help reinforce colour learning with younger children, while older kids still enjoy the thrill of the hunt. From red to purple to grey, your kids will enjoy the challenge of ticking off all the items on the list.

You can make it more challenging with a theme of rainbow items to find – indoors could be items of clothing, toys or food items, while outdoors the themes could be things in nature, cars on the road, storefronts and so on.

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Make Rainbow Slime

Image: Sugar Spice and Glitter

Isn’t this rainbow slime amazing? The craze for slime shows no signs of abating, so if your child is looking for some new slime to make, this rainbow one is worth a try.

You’ll need batches of slime in the different rainbow colours to make your rainbow slime, but don’t worry – you’ll find full instructions over at Sugar Spice and Glitter.

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Chalk Rainbows

Head outdoors from some chalking fun and make rainbows on the pavement or on your garden paving stones – you could have a whole path or patio of rainbows!

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Rainbow Paint For Sidewalk Art

Image: Learn, Play, Imagine

How about making this fun rainbow coloured outdoor paint? It’s easily made from cornflour, baking soda, water and food colouring, and you’ll find the details for getting started over at Learn, Play, Imagine.

3D Rainbow Paper Craft

We love these mini rainbows from Easy Peasy and Fun, sure to brighten up any room! Kids will enjoy creating them and cutting out the cloud shapes too.

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Rainbow M&M Cookies

These soft-baked rainbow cookies from Sally’s Baking Addiction are chewy and very more-ish! Great for a party (or a Monday, what day are we on again…), they are sure to be very popular.

No-Churn Rainbow Ice Cream

There are lots of tasty ideas like this no-churn rainbow ice cream over at Creamish for making really quick ice creams – no ice cream machine required, and it can be done in a matter of minutes.

A Rainbow of Cupcakes

Create your own rainbow with cupcakes, thanks to this clever and deceptively simple idea we found on Pinterest!

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What other fun rainbow activities for kids can you suggest? Leave a comment below and let us know – we’d love to hear from you!