Tie-Dyed Milk at Home Experiment

Connected Standard

3.2 K.A.6 Participate in simple investigations of matter to answer a question or to test a prediction.

Science Story Time Experiment: Tie-Dyed Milk

What You Will Need

  • Shallow Bowl
  • Dish Soap
  • Dairy Milk
  • Q-tip
  • Food Coloring (the more the better!)

Instructions

Bowl with milk and food coloring, with a cotton swab coated in dish soap to create a tie-dye milk experiment.
  1. Pour your milk into your shallow bowl. You don’t need to add a lot, just make sure you pour enough to cover the bottom of the bowl.
  2. Add a drop or two of food coloring to the center of the milk. If you are using multiple colors, add each color close to each other without stacking them directly on top of one another.
  3. Put a small amount of dish soap on the end of the Q-tip.
  4. Stick the Q-tip in the center of your food coloring and watch the magic happen!

The Science Behind It

When you add soap into the milk, the surface tension is reduced. The soap also reacts with the fat that is contained in the milk. This interaction causes the fat particles in the milk to move and create the colorful tie-dye pattern!

Books to Pair With This Experiment

  • The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt
  • Sky Color by Peter H. Reynolds

Handout

Download the Tie-Dyed Milk Experiment PDF to print or save.

Science Story Time Experiment: Tie-Dyed Milk2.08 MB