Simple Magic Milk Science Experiment
This easy science experiment brings a fun twist to learning. Vibrant swirls appear by adding food coloring to milk and dipping a cotton swab in dish soap, making it a perfect way to explore basic science concepts hands-on. It’s simple, engaging, and a great introduction to chemical reactions for kids!
Equipment
- Cotton Swabs
- Dawn Dish Soap
- Watkins Assorted Food Coloring
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups of milk
- Liquid food coloring
- Dish soap
- Cotton swabs
- Dinner plate or shallow dish
- Small container
Instructions
- Pour about one tablespoon of dish soap into a small container.
- Pour milk onto a plate. (It’s ok if you see bubbles.)
- Drip a few drops of food coloring of choice in the center of the milk. You can get creative with where you drop the drops and space them out how you wish. (Note: Food coloring may spread out slightly as pictured.)
- Dip a cotton swab into the dish soap.
- Place the cotton swab in the middle of the colors and watch what happens! You should see the colors spread out towards the sides of the plate and change over time. You can repeat this step a few times.
Video
Notes
- Kids can take their cotton swabs and “draw” or “swirl” in the colors. Eventually, the colors mix until the milk becomes one color.
- If you allow the milk to sit a while before all colors are mixed entirely7, you can see the milk change in neat ways, as pictured here.
- Watch over time how different things look!
- When complete, dispose of milk in the sink.