Science Experiment for Kids and Toddlers: Moving Food Coloring!

Sometimes I actually enjoy a rainy day (sometimes, I said, sometimes!).  I love that temporary change in weather- the sound of rumbling thunder,  the hint of rain in the air.  If I were alone I could curl up and read a book or watch a good movie with some snacks.  But of course I'm never alone, I'm a momma!  So there's usually a bored kid tugging at my shirt tails.  So here's a quick science experiment you can do to pass the time.  You can create a swirling rainbow of your very own!

What you'll need:

-milk (not skim, must be 2% or higher)
-liquid food coloring
-dish soap

Fill a shallow bowl with milk (I put the bowl on my handy dandy kid tray- I tell you, I use that tray for everything!!).  You can also see my son's Wall-E robot joining us for this experiment in the background.

Pick the colors you want to use and add a few drops to the milk.  My son went overboard and added a lot of drops.  You can't see it in the picture, but at one point he squeezed so hard I thought he emptied the dye bottle.  Although this amount of food coloring still works, I think you get a "swirlier" effect with less drops.  He wouldn't listen to me, but I'm hoping you'll concur.

Now here comes the fun part.  Drip a few drops of liquid dish soap right into the mixture and watch it swirl right before your eyes!

It will actually move and swirl for a good amount of time.  And when it's finished we decided to mess around and see what else would happen, so we added more milk, more dish soap, more color, etc. to see what effects we could get.

And hopefully by the time you're done with your science experiment, the sun will be shining and you can head back outside again!

*If you're looking for a handy dandy art tray of your own, check out my Amazon affiliate link below!