11 Activity: Food Color Explosion

Supplies per Student:

Plastic plate

Full-fat or whole milk

Food coloring

Small cup of dilute dish soap water

Dropper, plastic pipette, or Q-tip

Question: What do you think will happen when we add food coloring to milk? What do you think will happen when we add soap to the food coloring dots?

Directions: Distribute plastic plates and add enough milk to cover the bottom of the plate. Carefully add several drops of different food colors to the milk. Don’t move the table. Students may then add a drop or Q-tip of dish soap liquid to the spots of color. The colors should dramatically spread out.

Theory: Whole milk is made up of a lot of fat droplets in addition to water. Soap is both hydrophobic (water-fearing) and hydrophilic (water loving) can compromises the bonds in fat. It attaches to water (hydrophilic) and fat (hydrophobic) and allows the colors to spread

Grades: 1st – 4th grade

Time: 15 minutes

Clean-Up: Student can carefully dump their milk in to a common tub(s) on the table. The rest of the supplies can be gathered up to washed later for re-use.

Notes and Hints: Once the food coloring is added, advise them to keep their fingers out the milk and don’t bump the table. The cool stuff happens when the food coloring is undisturbed.

Image Credit: https://www.scholastic.com/parents/kids-activities-and-printables/activities-for-kids/math-and-science-ideas/home-science-experiments-color-changing-milk.html