Try egg dying

You’ll need

Eggs (one for each person)
Food colouring
Clear vinegar
Ice (optional)
Access to a kitchen or hob/stove, with access to water
Heat protective equipment, such as tea towels or oven gloves
Pan
Large bowl
Cooling rack
Paper towels, old tea towels or newspapers
Fire safety equipment, such as a fire extinguisher or fire blanket
First aid kit for burns
Kettle
Tongs

Before you begin

Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. There's also more guidance to help you carry out your risk assessment, including examples.
Make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely.
Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help.

Planning and setting up this activity

Put wipeable tablecloths down or use newspapers to protect the surfaces from the dye. You could also run this activity outside to prevent mess.
Ask everyone to wear old clothes
Use gloves to protect their hands from being dyed.
Remember to check for allergies or skin sensitivities, then adjust the equipment as needed.

Egg-cellent dyeing

Place eggs in a saucepan, cover them with water and boil the eggs for 10 minutes. To prevent cracking, eggs shouldn’t be stacked on top of each other.
While the eggs are boiling, fill a large bowl some cold water and add the ice. Make sure an adult volunteer is supervising the eggs boiling at all times and the pan handle is turned in, so it can’t be knocked.
After 10 minutes, an adult should carefully drain the eggs over a sink and place them in the icy water to cool them quickly. Use heat protective equipment, such as tea towels or an oven mitt, as needed, and ask young people to stand back from the boiling water.
In each pan, mix 100ml of boiling water (from a kettle), with 1 teaspoon of vinegar, and 10 to 20 drops of a chosen food colouring. An adult volunteer should either add or closely supervise the use of the kettle and pouring boiling water.
You can add more or less food colouring, depending on how bright you want the colour.
Using tongs, people should put their egg in the coloured water and leave it for five minutes. You can crack the shells slightly before putting them in the water if wanted to create a crackling effect on the egg.
While the eggs are soaking, lay the paper towels, old tea towels or newspapers on the kitchen side or table. Place the cooling rack over the top.
After five minutes, use tongs to remove the eggs from the water and leave them dry on the cooling racks.
When the eggs are dry, crack them open to see how well the dyeing process worked.
You could experiment by adding the egg to different colours and cracking or peeling off bits of the egg’s shell to create patterns.

Reflection

This activity gave everyone the opportunity to try something new and make their own decisions about the colour of their egg. How did the egg dyeing process go?

Did it work or did your egg not change colour? Would you do anything different next time to make your egg look different?

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

Fires and stoves: Make sure anyone using fires and stoves is doing so safely. Check that the equipment and area are suitable and have plenty of ventilation. Follow the gas safety guidance. Have a safe way to extinguish the fire in an emergency.
Food: Remember to check for allergies, eating problems, fasting or dietary requirements and adjust the recipe as needed. Make sure you’ve suitable areas for storing and preparing food and avoid cross contamination of different foods. Take a look at our guidance on food safety and hygiene.
Cooking: Teach young people how to use cooking equipment safely. Supervise them appropriately throughout. Make sure it’s safe to use and follow manufacturers’ guidelines for use.