Adrian 5 years KINDERGARTENER PRESCHOOLER SCIENCE 🔬 ⚗️⚖️

Magic Milk STEM Kids Science Experiment

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Magic Milk kids science experiment on surface tension is a fun way to promote STEM education in preschoolers and kindergarteners.

Magic Milk STEM kids activity is absolutely mesmerizing to watch! Besides, this science experiment requires minimal preparation since you will be using items around your kitchen. Most importantly, this simple kids STEM experiment will expose your child to the science of surface tension with no specialized equipment through the power of sensory play!

YOU’ll need for this STEM Kids Science Experiment:

a shallow plate or a dish
full-fat milk (we tried this experiment with skim milk, fat-free milk, and heavy cream, and neither worked; with half-and-half, the breakage of surface tension is very slow due to the density of the liquid, although you will get a gorgeous marbled effect)
food coloring (trust me, gel colors work best)
liquid soap

HOW to conduct this Magic Milk Surface Tension STEM Activity:

First, pour the milk into the plate. (In the above video, we are using half-and-half, but this particular one is closer in density to full-fat milk rather than half-and-half you buy in a carton, so I suggest using full-fat milk instead.) Also, use a shallow plate to avoid wasting a lot of milk. Next, make sure that the milk covers the bottom of the plate. Thereafter, add a few drops of food coloring. (I suggest adding an equivalent amount of gel coloring drops in a circular motion close to the middle.) Do not add too much coloring as you will end up with the color brown instead of a rainbow. Lastly, dip a Q-tip (or a small sponge) into a dish-soap and then tap a Q-tip into milk in the middle. Observe what happens. Most importantly, bring the attention of a young scientist to the magic of surface tension!

Please, always supervise your children.

Revealing the Science mystery of Magic Milk Experiment:

The molecules of the milk pull each other together which stretches the surface of the milk into an invisible skin. However, the liquid soap breaks the surface tension, and thus the milk molecules move apart. This effect is called surface tension. Thus, adding liquid soap weakens the invisible skin of this surface tension and makes the molecules move around. This makes the food coloring mix together.