How do you make magic milk? Let us show you how easy and fun simple science experiments can be! We love classic science experiments like this magic milk experiment. Any type of chemical reaction is fun to watch and makes for great hands-on learning! This magic milk science experiment is the perfect kitchen science experiment as you already have all the items for it in your kitchen!
MAGIC MILK IS A MUST TRY SCIENCE EXPERIMENT!
We love super simple science that we can pull out on a rainy afternoon (or in any weather). That’s why we are working our way through some great classic science experiments!
No two magic milk experiments will ever be the same! We have done this one many times with many different themes, even as a Christmas experiment and for St Patrick’s Day science. Color changing milk is an explosion of color in your dish. Think fireworks and cool chemistry!
Kids are naturally curious and sharing fun simple science activities at home or in the classroom is just another way to get kids learning. We love to keep our science playful too!
WHAT IS CHEMISTRY?
Let’s keep it basic for our younger or junior scientists! Chemistry is all about the way different materials are put together, and how they are made up including atoms and molecules. It’s also how these materials act under different conditions. Chemistry is often a base for physics so you will see overlap!
What might you experiment within chemistry? Classically we think of a mad scientist and lots of bubbling beakers, and yes there are reactions between bases and acids to enjoy! Also, chemistry involves matter, changes, solutions, and the list goes on and on.
We will be exploring simple chemistry you can do at home or in the classroom that isn’t too crazy, but is still lots of fun for kids! You can check out more chemistry experiments for kids.
Looking for easy science process information and free journal pages?
We have you covered…
—>>> FREE Science Process Pack
HOW TO SET UP A MAGIC MILK SCIENCE EXPERIMENT
If you want to make this truly a science experiment where you are adding a bit of scientific method to your activity, you need to change up one variable. You can learn more about the scientific method here. What variable would you change? The milk maybe?
SUPPLIES:
- Full Fat Milk
- Food Coloring
- Dawn Dish Soap
- Cotton Swabs
MAGIC MILK SET UP:
STEP 1: Start by pouring your milk into a baking dish or another flat bottom surface. You don’t need a lot of milk just to cover the bottom and then some.
Your kids will probably want to try this one over and over again! If you have leftover milk, try our milk and vinegar plastic experiment.
STEP 2: Next you want to fill the top of the milk with drops of color! Go ahead and mix them all up. Go ahead and throw some glitter in there too, but that’s optional.
STEP 3: Now pour a bit of your dish soap into a bowl, touch your cotton swab tip to the dish soap to coat it. Bring it over to your milk dish and gently touch the surface of the milk with the soapy cotton swab! What happens?
Make sure to read the science below to learn more about this cool chemical reaction between the milk and the soap.
Remember each time you try magic milk it will be a little different. It’s a fun fireworks activity for the 4th of July or New Year!
MAGIC MILK EXPLAINED
Milk is made up of minerals, proteins, and fats. Proteins and fats are susceptible to changes. When the dish soap is added to the milk, those molecules run around and try to attach to the fat molecules in the milk.
You wouldn’t see this without the food coloring! The food coloring looks like fireworks because it’s getting bumped around!
The soap heads for the fats creating the cool bursting of color. When there is no more movement, all the fat molecules have been found. Are there any more hiding?
Try another cotton swab dipped in soap!
WHY IS SCIENCE SO IMPORTANT?
Kids are always looking to explore, discover, check out, and experiment to find out why things do what they do, move like they move, or change like they change! Indoors or outdoors, science is definitely amazing!
Science surrounds us, inside and out. Kids love checking things out with magnifying glasses, creating chemical reactions with kitchen ingredients, and of course exploring stored energy! Check out 35+ awesome science projects to get started.
There lots of easy science concepts that you can introduce kids to very early on! You might not even think about science when your toddler pushes a card down a ramp, plays in front of the mirror, laughs at your shadow puppets, or bounces balls over and over again. See where I am going with this list! What else can you add if you stop to think about it?
Science starts early, and you can be a part of that with setting up science at home with everyday materials. Or you can bring easy science to a group of kids! We find a ton of value in cheap science activities and experiments.
Looking for easy science process information and free journal pages?
We have you covered…
—>>> FREE Science Process Pack
MORE GREAT SCIENCE IDEAS FOR KIDS
Magic Milk
Classic science fun with a Magic Milk Science Experiment
Ingredients
- Whole Milk Enough to just cover the bottom of the bowl, pie plate, or pan
- Food Coloring Variety of colors
- Dish Soap Add a small amount to a bowl or cup
Instructions
Start by pouring your milk into a baking dish or another flat bottom surface. You don't need a lot of milk just to cover the bottom and then some.
Your kids will probably want to try this one over and over again! If you have leftover milk, try our milk and vinegar plastic experiment.
Next, you want to fill the top of the milk with drops of color! Go ahead and mix them all up. Go ahead and throw some glitter in there too, but that's optional.
Now pour a bit of your dish soap into a bowl, touch your cotton swab tip to the dish soap to coat it. Bring it over to your milk dish and gently touch the surface of the milk with the soapy cotton swab! What happens?
Recipe Notes
Milk is made up of minerals, proteins, and fats. Proteins and fats are susceptible to changes. When the dish soap is added to the milk, those molecules run around and try to attach to the fat molecules in the milk.
You wouldn't see this without the food coloring! The food coloring looks like fireworks because it's getting bumped around!
The soap heads for the fats creating the cool bursting of color. When there is no more movement, all the fat molecules have been found. Are there any more hiding?
Try another cotton swab dipped in soap!
Michelle Ingoglia
This activity is a staple in my house! 🙂 I wanted to say that, even though you say it’s great for little kids, my older kids (6 and ELEVEN) still love this, too!!! I’m not kidding- my eleven year old son asked to do magic milk last month. 🙂 Great fun!
Sarah
Hi,
This looks like a terrific idea to do with my kindergarten class! However, is there a possible substitute I can use for the milk?
Gameimake
Interesting and funny experiments. I like fireworks activity. A ton of value in cheap science activities and experiments.
Katy
My son suggested swapping out the soap for sanitizer and it is awesome. The color just explodes!
Diann
The experiment was fun. We read the explanation about the soap attaching to the fat molecules. We tried it with fat free milk and the same result occurred. Why?
Helen Arano
I things with my 4 year old grandson, and this was amazing, we did over and over and when his mom came home from work, he had to show her.
Thank you so much for sharing, as on a limited income your free things help me help him learn.
Sincerely, it was fun looking forward to the next experiment.
littlebins
Awesome! So glad to hear he loved it that much!