Super-Easy Saturday Morning Science Project

When Zip turned four, he received his first "science set." Actually, he received two. Apparently he had already earned himself a reputation as a budding science-lover. Zip has had fun with the set off an on over the last couple of years, and recently Bee asked to try his hand at it. So Saturday morning we pulled out the set and picked a new project to try.

This activity can actually be done with a few common household items, so a science set isn't really necessary. It is easy, only marginally messy, and fun for any age, even mommas and poppas! While older kids can get into the science aspect, it is just plain ol' fun for little ones. It takes anywhere from 10 minutes to a half-hour. Perfect for a Saturday morning!


What you'll need:
Dish  liquid
Milk
Food coloring (3 or 4 colors)
Cotton swabs
A plate or shallow dish

Do this project by the sink or set the dish on an edged tray to avoid spills/messes.


Pour milk into the dish. Imagine the dish being divided into quadrants and add a drop of food coloring to each quadrant. Wait a moment to see if/how the food coloring moves.

Now, dip the cotton swab into the dish liquid and then place it in the center of the plate. (I had to instruct Zip beforehand that we would hold the swab in place while we counted to 20, so that he didn't swoosh it around the plate right away). It may take a moment, but watch and see what happens.

What is happening?
I did a little research to find an explanation for what happens (and by research I mean I searched on-line for "milk soap experiment"). Milk is made up of water but also contains fat globules, protein, and sugars. When the milk is resting on the plate and even after adding the food coloring, it is more or less undisturbed. But when soap is added it breaks up the fat globules, which begin expanding and moving across the surface of the milk. The food coloring allows you to see the movement.

Playing scientist
Being a little older, Zip was able to appreciate some of the science behind it but the activity. I explained to him in 6-year-old terms why the food coloring moves and we also talked about the effect heat has on molecules (a video like this one helps), then we started experimenting. We compared what happened with hot vs. warm vs. cold, and tried it out with water. (Hot milk was our favorite!) I encouraged him to predict what would happen (What is your hypothesis?) and think about why, then we tested it out. My little scientist is also an artist in the making, so he insisted we take pictures of the milk when we finished!

Do you have a favorite kid-friendly science project? Do you think your kids would enjoy this one? Roll on down to the comments to chime in!