Coffee Filter Butterfly Craft

Coffee filter butterflies are a fun and easy craft to do at home, at school, or with friends. My daughter keeps asking to make more! You can also use this craft as a science experiment in color separation (chromatography).

Here are the materials and instructions for making coffee filter butterflies while doing a fun science experiment:

Materials:

Pipe Cleaners (Pastel Colors)
Coffee Filters
Markers
Small Cup or Jar
Clothespins

Instructions:

1. Cut pipe cleaners in half (see step 1). I cut so many because I did this with a large group of kids.

2. Here comes the science experiment . . . I got this idea from the blog Buggy and Buddy (check out the beautiful pictures!).

3. Lay out your coffee filters, and draw different color circles on each filter (see step 2). Write the name of the color in pencil, so you can remember what color you started with.

Note: You can click on the images below to see an enlarged view.

Step 1	Step 2	Step 3	Step 4

4. Rest the coffee filter on the cup so that the middle touches the water (see step 3). Watch the colors spread and separate!

5. Once the color has spread to the edge (or near edge) of the coffee filter, remove it from the water and set it out to dry (see step 4).

6. After the filter is dry, twist a pipe cleaner around it, and clip on a clothespin.

7. Draw a face on the clothespin, or decorate it however you like.

Here are some of the butterflies we made with simple faces (just two dots for eyes):

One child decided to do a colorful body . . .

Another made a sweet happy face . . .

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