EASY Color Changing Milk Science Experiment

My kids love doing this magic milk experiment again and again; including many seasonal varieties. My kids just love the vibrant moving colors in this Magic Milk Experiment for toddler, preschool, pre-k, kindergarten, and first grade students. This easy science experiment for preschoolers is fun to watch and help get kids excited about science – it does not disappoint! 

Color changing milk

There is something about mixing red, blue, and yellow to get new colors like orange, green, purple, plus variations of those colors. I’ll admit it, even as a parent I loe seeing the color mixing take place and colors zoom around in little explosions. This milk food coloring experiment is such a fun twist on a classic magic milk science experiment. And we love  easy Science Experiments to help kids discover the wonder of the world around them as they learn and explore. This is perfect for toddlers, preschoolers, kindergartners, and grade 1 students.  Grab a few supplies and lets get experimenting! 

Magic Milk Experiment

All you need to try this quick and easy Science activity with your kiddos are a few simple materials you probably already have on hand:

• Milk
• Food Coloring (red, yellow, blue)
• Dish Soap
• Optional: Christmas Sprinkles 
• Plate or Shallow Bowl
• Toothpick or butter knife

Color changing milk science experiment

Pour the milk onto the plate. You don’t need too much, just enough to cover the bottom of the plate.

Next, drop in the food coloring. A few drops of different colors in various places. Completely random, but spaced out from each other.

Color changing milk experiment

When you’re ready, add a couple drops of dish soap. You will instantly see the colors swirl around the milk. It is like the colors turned into ballroom dancers, just floating on the milk. 

Color mixing science experiments

This milk and dish soap experiment was explained to me like cleaning up butter. The dish soap helps cut the fat and grease. The dish soap does the same type of thing with the fat of the milk. It separates the two liquids and makes the colors dance! 

When dish soap is dropped into milk, there is a swirl of activity of soap molecules finding and bonding with fat molecules in the milk. With millions of molecules swirling around looking for mates, the colors in the milk get all mixed up! It looks like the milk is erupting for several seconds.

Color changing milk experiment lesson plan

Besides being very fun to watch, it is seriously so beautiful. It is not something that could be made twice in the same way, it’s that type of beauty. Just like a sunset. We have sunsets every night, but they are different each time!