I watch kids throughout the week, so I’m always in search of some great activities, crafts and projects to keep them entertained! Plus, it’s so much FUN when you can do things like this together, and they LOVE doing these hands-on activities!
If you’re in search of more ideas, Pinterest is great, but I’ve also found out that some of those old, old books at the library are just filled with all kinds of NEAT ideas! There are lots of things they can do on their own as well as ones they’ll need your help with.
This “MAGICALLY MOVING MILK EXPERIMENT” was a BIG hit with them last week!
So, a win for me, right?! ???? Haha!! And, this is something that you can easily do over and over again.
And, with just a few things that I’m pretty sure you already have around the house, you can do this, too!
SO HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED:
Seriously, that is it. A few simple things. Who knew these few simple things could put a big smile on the kiddos faces!
Start by getting a pie plate or another dish that has just a little bit of depth.
Pour milk into it just covering the bottom of the dish.
Add several drops of food coloring. They’ll start to spread some, so you’ll want to make sure that the drops aren’t touching. And don’t overdo it. ???? They’ll need some room to spread.
Dip a q-tip into the dish soap.
Stick the q-tip into the middle of the dish and watch the reaction!
Right away, you’ll notice the colors swirl, dance, move and make all kinds of neat formations!
Hold the q-tip there for 10-15 seconds.
And, yes, the swirls just kept going and going even after I removed the q-tip!
You can experiment with where you put the q-tip, how deep it is in the milk, etc. to see if you get any better reactions. I like to just put the q-tip into the milk, not touching the bottom of the plate. Then, I get another q-tip and put it in somewhere else. It’s like a double reaction!
I don’t understand all of HOW it works exactly. But, it basically has to do with the fact that the molecules of fats and proteins in the milk are being broken down by the soap. Then the soap is chasing the fat molecules trying to join with them. There are in-depth, full explanations all over the internet if you’re looking for exactly why this happens. I just think it’s a pretty cool chemical reaction, and kids LOVE seeing the formations!
I like this one! As soon as the q-tip hit the surface of the milk it formed a large outer circle.
This is something the kids might just keep asking to do again and again! Go try it!
I highly recommend this book, too. It’s full of incredible things for kids to do and would make a great gift idea! ????
Looking for another great activity for the kids? Check out these ideas!
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