Materials required:
Ø M & M candy, Skittles or the like (one in each color)
Ø filter paper (also paper from a coffee or foil filter)
Ø a graduated cylinder (diameter greater than 4 cm)
Ø water (preferably distilled),
Ø kitchen salt (unedged),
Ø a pencil (pen, pen, or punch can not be used for this experiment),
Ø a scissors,
Ø a ruler,
Ø 6 toothpicks,
Ø Aluminum foil,
Ø a 2-liter bottle with lid.

Using the scissors, cut a square with the 8 cm side of the filter paper. Draw a line at 1 cm from one of the edges of the paper. Make 6 points with the pen, evenly spaced along the line, leaving about 0.5cm between the edge of the paper and the points closest to the edge. Below the line, label each point, depending on the color of each candy used (eg G for yellow, V for green, Ab for blue, M for brown, etc.).
Next we will make color solutions from each candy. Take a piece of aluminum foil (about 20cm x 10cm) and stretch it well on the table. Put 6 drops of water equally spaced along the foil. Put one drop on each drop. Wait about 1 minute until the color of the candy is dissolved in water. Remove the candy and throw it away.
Now we will "spot" the colors on the filter paper. Blend the tip of a toothpick in one of the colored solutions, and then tap it gently on the tagged point on the filter paper. Use a very light touch so that the color point remains small, up to 2mm in diameter. Use a toothpick for each color.
After the paper dots have dried, repeat the process three more times, leaving the dots to dry after each application.
After the paper has dried, fold it in half so that it stands alone, with the vertical bend and the points at the bottom.
Next we will prepare a development solution. Make sure that the 2 liter bottle is well rinsed. Put one liter of water in the bottle in which add 1cm3 of the kitchen salt. Put the lid and shake well until the salt dissolves completely in the water. This has resulted in a 1% salt solution.
Now pour the salt solution into the graduated cylinder to a level of 0.5cm. The solution level must be small enough that when you put the filter paper in it, the colored dots are initially above the solution level. Hold the filter paper with the points down and place it in the graduated cylinder containing the salt solution.
Notice what happens to the salt solution! It will climb the filter paper due to the capillary action of the filter paper.
Notice what happens as the salt solution climbs on the filter paper! Color stains climb on paper together with salt solution. The colors in some candy are made of several dyes, and we can see how the colors separate as the bands climb along the paper. Colors are separated because some dyes stick to paper and others are more soluble in the salt solution. The result of these differences will be to obtain bands of different heights on the filter paper.
This process is called chromatography. The salt solution is called the mobile phase and the stationary phase paper. The term "affinity" is used to describe the tendency of colors to prefer one phase to the other. Colors that go the furthest have more affinity for the saline solution (mobile phase), the least climbing colors have more affinity for paper (stationary phase).
When the salt solution reaches approximately 1cm from the top edge of the paper, remove the paper from the solution. Place it dry on a clean, straight surface.
Compare points from different candies, observing similarities and differences. Which candy contains dye mixtures? Which one seem to have one dye? Notice that similar colors of different candy climb just as much on the filter paper.
You can repeat the experiment with another type of candy and compare the results.