Milk & Soap Experiment

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Need an idea for your science/ chemistry lesson? Watch a range of colours come together and form a kaleidoscope in this milk and soap experiment.

We’re ending off our homeschooling year now, and I wanted to include some more fun into our days. Experiments are always the best way because it can be relatively easy but a whole lot of fun!

It’s December and Christmas spirit is high in our house, as I’m sure it is in most households, therefore we used green and red, but I imagine all the colours of the rainbow would look even better.

What you will need:

Milk (Use different kinds of milk to see if they react differently)
Liquid soap (use different types/ brands to see if it affects the process)
Earbuds/ Q-tips/ Cotton buds
Bowls/ Saucers
Food colouring (One or a variety – your choice)

Instructions

First of all, pour a little bit milk to a bowl and then a couple drops of your food colouring.
[Try not to move the mix around as it will mix the colours and milk.]
Dip a earbud/q-tip/ cotton bud into the liquid soap and put it into the milk and colour mix. Watch your colours come alive!

Why is this happening?

Milk is made up of water and different fat amounts (I used full cream/fat). The liquid soap creates a bond with the fat in the milk. This makes it push out the water and food colouring. The movement is happening to make more room for the fat to meet up with the soap. Watch this YouTube video for more information.

In the second last image my little one ended having his own fun with it my mixing everything together. We hope you enjoy this milk and soap experiment, easy to do without a lot of effort.