Make Stunning Magic Flowers

Materials you'll need

• White paper
• Black marker or pen
• Crayons or colored markers
• Scissors
• Bowl or plate filled with water

 

Step-by-step tutorial

Step 1: Use a black marker to draw a flower shape on a piece of white paper. Make it large enough to fold — a simple 4- or 5-petal design works great.

Step 2: Color your flower with crayons or markers. Decorate the petals however you like and add a different color to the center.

Step 3: Cut out your flower along the outline.

Step 4: Gently fold each petal inward toward the center of the flower.

Step 5: Fill a bowl or plate with water and carefully set your folded flower on the surface. Watch as the petals slowly open up.

Learn more

The secret behind this trick is something called capillary action — the same force that helps real plants drink water from the soil. Paper is made up of tiny wood fibers with small gaps between them. When your flower touches the water, those gaps act like mini straws, pulling water into the paper. As the paper soaks up the water and swells, the folds you made can't hold their shape anymore, and the petals spring open.