Activity Title: Magic Milk Rainbow Science Experiment for Preschoolers
Age Group(s):
- PreSchool
DESCRIPTION:
Turn everyday milk into a colorful work of art!
What do I need?
For this activity, you will need the following items:
1. Milk (whole milk work best)
2. Liquid food coloring
3. Dish soap
4. Q-tip
5. Small plate
How do we do it?
1. Pour enough milk to cover the bottom of the small plate.
2. Gently drip one drop of each of the colors of food coloring on to the surface of the milk. Drop your colors close together near the center of the saucer.
3. Now, grab a Q-tip, and coat one end with a drop of dish soap.
NOW FOR THE MAGIC!
4. Press the soapy end of the Q-tip into the food coloring, where the colors intersect. Hold it steady and watch what happens! Keep it in place for 10 or 15 seconds, observing how the colors continue to stream out from the Q-tip.
5. For fun, lift your Q-tip up, and press it down in another area of the plate where the colors have gathered. Continue to move the Q-tip from one spot to the other, watching the colors swirl and churn and collide. Try tipping and tilting the Q-tip to see what effect that has on the colors. Remove the Q-tip completely, and watch in amazement as the colors continue to spin, whirl and twirl.
What is the science behind it?
The fat in milk does not dissolve in water as it is a non-polar molecule. When soap is added to the milk, it allows the fat to be carried through the water. When the soap is dropped into the milk, the soap and fat molecules combine, which causes the food coloring to move rapidly through the milk, creating pretty, swirling patterns.
