What Colors Are Hidden in a Green Leaf?

During our third workshop as part of this year’s MINTmach Pass program on May 19, 2026, we explored the question: “What colors does a green leaf contain?” A strange question - green, of course. Or is it?

But why do leaves change their color throughout the year? Could a leaf actually contain several different colors? Together, we followed in the footsteps of Mikhail Tsvet, a Russian botanist and the inventor of chromatography. Using everyday materials such as spinach, nail polish remover, and chalk, we carried out our own experiments. In doing so, we discovered that a leaf does indeed contain several different pigments and that these pigments play important roles within the plant.

With an additional felt-tip pen chromatography experiment, the children were able to learn even more about the principle of chromatography. In the end, they also solved the mystery of which black felt-tip pen had been used to draw the smiley face on the filter paper.