This Nervous Colours or Colour Changing Milk Experiment was a crazy experiment. It was amazing to see the colours run like they did, changing every time we did this experiment.

Nervous Colours

This colour-changing milk experiment is a fun one that young children will really enjoy.

There are so many different colour options that can be done, making it a great experiment all year round.

You could try green and red colours for a Christmas themed experiment. Or, pink and red for a Valentine’s Day experiment, or maybe red and blue for an Independence Day / 4th of July experiment.

Colour-Changing Experiment

For this nervous colours experiment, you will need:

1 tsp. Dishwashing liquid/soap
Cotton ball / cotton bud / toothpick
Food Coloring, in the colours you want to use
Large Glass or white plate / bowl
Whole or 2% Milk at room temperature

Pour the milk into the bowl and let it sit until it is at room temperature.

Then, in the middle of the plate, add some drops of your desired colour/s of food colouring, leaving a space between the colours. It is okay if they touch a little, but not too much. The colours will just start to spread out and may mix a little, but that is fine.

Place the toothpick / cotton bud or cotton ball into the dishwashing liquid, letting it absorb up some of it.

Gently place the cotton ball or hold the cotton bud or toothpick in the centre of the colours.

The coloured drops should quickly disperse to the sides of the plate, leaving cool designs in the milk.

If using a toothpick or cotton bud, you can redip it into more dishwashing liquid and hold it in the colours around the edge of the plate.

Why do these colours run away?

When you place the dishwashing liquid into the milk, it bonds with the fat in the milk, holding onto it tightly. This bond is so strong, that the food colouring is pushed away. If you use a milk with no-fat in it such as skim milk, you will find that the colours aren’t pushed away as there is no fat for the dishwashing liquid to bond with.

As the soap becomes evenly mixed in with the milk, the action starts to slow down and it will eventually stop. This why a milk with a higher fat content produces a better colour explosion – there is more fat to combine with the soap molecules.

More Experiments

Nervous Colours

Simple Living. Creative Learning

This Nervous Colours or Colour Changing Milk Experiment was a crazy experiment. It was amazing to see the colours run like they did, changing every time we did this experiment.

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Ingredients

▢ whole or 2% milk, at room temperature
▢ food colouring
▢ toothpick, cotton bud or cotton ball
▢ 1 tsp dishwashing liquid / soap, washing up detergent
▢ large glass or white plate / bowl

Instructions

Pour the milk into the bowl and let it sit until it is at room temperature.
Then, in the middle of the plate, add some drops of your desired colour/s of food colouring, leaving a space between the colours. It is okay if they touch a little, but not too much. The colours will just start to spread out and may mix a little, but that is fine.
Place the toothpick / cotton bud or cotton ball into the dishwashing liquid, letting it absorb up some of it.
Gently place the cotton ball or hold the cotton bud or toothpick in the centre of the colours.
The coloured drops should quickly disperse to the sides of the plate, leaving cool designs in the milk.
If using a toothpick or cotton bud, you can redip it into more dishwashing liquid and hold it in the colours around the edge of the plate.
Why do these colours run away?
When you place the dishwashing liquid into the milk, it bonds with the fat in the milk, holding onto it tightly. This bond is so strong, that the food colouring is pushed away. If you use a milk with no-fat in it such as skim milk, you will find that the colours aren't pushed away as there is no fat for the dishwashing liquid to bond with.
As the soap becomes evenly mixed in with the milk, the action starts to slow down and it will eventually stop. This why a milk with a higher fat content produces a better colour explosion - there is more fat to combine with the soap molecules.

Keyword Experiment, Science

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Nervous Colours ~ Colour Changing Milk Experiment

Nervous Colours