Magic Milk Fireworks

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Magic milk fireworks are a surprisingly simple Fourth of July science activity that kids will beg to repeat over and over again.

With just a few common ingredients, they’ll turn ordinary milk into an explosion of  red, white and blue fireworks. It’s perfect for Memorial Day, Fourth of July… or anytime you need a guaranteed boredom buster!  And speaking of boredom busters, try out our awesome 30 Science Experiments in our shop!

Magic Milk Fireworks

Getting Ready

To prep, I gathered a few simple supplies:

  • A plate or baking dish
  • Milk (We used whole milk, since that is what we drink, but any kind of milk will work.)
  • Star cookie cutters
  • Red and blue food coloring
  • Liquid dish soap

Magic Milk Fireworks. Fun 4th of July science for kids!Create Magic Milk Fireworks

Next, we poured some milk onto our dish. We didn’t need a lot – just enough to cover the bottom. Then each kid placed a star cookie cutter in the milk.

I dripped a few drops of red and blue food coloring inside the stars and told the kids to get ready for the really FUN and AMAZING part!

My son dripped one drop of liquid dish soap right in the center of the star. We watched in amazement as the colors scattered in all directions, just like Fourth of July fireworks!

Patriotic magic milk is a Fourth of July science activity the kids will love! Enjoy color mixing and creating unique art while learning science.

I added a few more drops of food coloring to watch it mix in. Then, we removed the cookie cutters and sat in awe as the colors burst into the rest of the milk in the dish!

Patriotic Magic Milk Science

There are a few different science concepts to learn from this activity. First, dish soap disrupts the surface tension of the milk. All liquids have chemical bonds along the surface that make the liquid form a little dome on top. You can see this effect when a droplet of water rests on wax paper. Adding soap interrupts those bonds along the surface, making the surface molecules spread out and the colors explode like fireworks!

Patriotic magic milk is a Fourth of July science activity the kids will love! Enjoy color mixing and creating unique art while learning science.

Second, soap has some really interesting properties. One end of a soap molecule LOVES water (hydrophilic) while the other side HATES water and loves oil and fat (hydrophobic).

Soap can get dishes and clothes clean because the hydrophobic end picks up the grease, oil and dirt, while the hydrophilic end dissolves in water and washes all the dirty stuff away with it.

Milk, especially whole milk, contains fat and proteins. When soap is added to milk, the hydrophobic end of a soap molecule grabs onto a fat molecule in the milk.

With millions of molecules finding a partner all at once, the mixture gets all stirred up!

More Science Boredom Busters

Keep the fun and learning going with our 30 Science Experiments!  The best part is that they only use common household supplies like baking soda, salt and milk!

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