Milk and Dish Soap Experiment

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Oh my goodness, I can’t believe that we did this milk and dish soap science experiment so long ago and haven’t shared it with you yet!

Basically, we found this really cool science experiment that is quick to set up, uses household ingredients you already own, is easy to clean up, and is attractive to children who are bored by science yet excited by art.

Milk

I decided to set it up as a Montessori tray, knowing that Ella would likely select it first thing (so the milk wouldn’t be left sitting out) but you could always put a note on the tray that the teacher/parent has an additional component. (We use green sticky notes for this signal.)

This post is going to be a bit picture-heavy, but I think you’ll agree that the pictures help tell the story of this experiment.

milk and dish soap experiment: pouring milk is a montessori practical life skill used in this fun science experimentWe used our child-sized glass pitchers to pour some 3% fat milk into a clear bowl (to better see the effects).

milk and dish soap experiment: engage fine motor AND impulse control in this fun science experiment

Ella carefully and methodically added a few drops of food colouring to the milk.

milk and dish soap experiment: colours waiting to be mixed

And then, ever so gently…

milk and dish soap experiment: really cool art meets science activity that engages fine motor skills

Added one drop of regular old dish soap.

What you see here is the dye racing away from the point where the soap was added, which broke the surface tension and weakened the fat and protein bonds naturally found in milk.

The soap is seeking to attach itself to the fat molecules, which is how soap cleans — it bonds to other molecules and then is attracted to water, pulling the attached molecules away from the dirty hands or plate that it was on before washing.

This science activity makes a great compliment to a hygiene or self-care study.

milk and dish soap experiment: after the colours settle, you get this fun marbled effect that can be used as paintAfter the initial experiment is over, you can swirl the colours back into the milk and use it to paint! You can even repeat the experiment on your paintings (these paintings are a bit too soggy to last unless you use a heavy canvas or wooden surface).

milk and dish soap experiment: use the leftover milk paint for further art and science experiments

What do you think? Would your kids enjoy this milk and dish soap science experiment?

Milk Science Experiment

And… I would hope it goes without saying… but don’t let the kids drink the milk after this experiment, or you may have an Alfaalfa bubbles situation on your hands…

Do you have a little scientist who would love this colourful science experiment?

For more easy kitchen science experiments, check out our Ivory soap experiment and water xylophone experiment.

 

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