Activity Overview
Be your own secret agent and write secret messages for others to read with homemade Invisible Ink. You can actually use a lemon to write secret messages! The juice of the lemon fruit contains carbon compounds that are nearly colorless in nature when dissolved in water. When they are heated by a lamp, the compounds start to break down and produce carbon which is dark in color.
My kids really got into using invisible ink and it has become a way of communicating that has bonded the kids together. The enjoy the secret writing and unveiling of their messages and I am sure that yours will too.
Materials Needed
- 1 Lemon
- Cotton swabs
- Water
- A teaspoon
- A small plate
- A Lamp and light bulb
- White paper
How to make it
- Squeeze some lemon juice onto the small plate.
- Add a few droplets of water and mix the solution well with a teaspoon
- Use your cotton swab as a writing utensil. Dip it into the solution and write a message on the white paper.
- Allow the paper to dry.
- Hold the paper near a hot light bulb to reveal the secret message.
