Jello electrophoresis fun!

The seaweed-derived starch agarose is a staple in bioresearch; it's used to make thin sheets of gel through which charged molecules (e.g. pieces of DNA) can, by applying an electric differential, be predictably separated for analysis. Funny thing is -- as anyone who's used it knows -- agarose gels look and feel a lot like good old kitchen-made gelatin (jello).

So why not bring home that useful electrophoresis technology in order to make jello (even) more fun? Kits could be marketed to let you make pictures in your jello: a special plastic dish is provided for gelling the sweet gelatin (with just a little salt added), with small slots on one side filled with colorful, factory-premeasured mixtures of powdered, food- safe dyes. After the jello sets, a little water is added to each slot, and the jello is covered with a little cold, very dilute saltwater.

The dish is then sealed (for electrical safety around the kiddies), plugged into an outlet, and left to subtly bubble away for a while. The current separates out the mixed dyes, according to their size/charge density, in a manner calculated to make a low-res picture in the finished jello. Pictures could include sailboats, frogs, &c. -- any simple image that appeals; or it could be a custom message like 'Happy Birthday, Dad!'. The kids learn a little science, the parents get to spend some quality mess time with them, and everyone gets a nice treat at the end.