Newsletter 1: Exciting Experiments at Home
Get ready to dive headfirst into the thrilling world of Doodle STEAM!
Welcome to our very first Doodle STEAM newsletter! from the Childhood Development Initiative. We’re thrilled to begin this six-part journey of discovery with you and your child. Each month, we’ll bring exciting Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Maths experiments right to your inbox, starting with today’s magical colour-swirling adventure.
Transform ordinary milk into a swirling rainbow using just five simple kitchen items! This experiment teaches children about chemical reactions while creating beautiful patterns they’ll love to watch.
What You’ll Need:
- Whole milk
- Food colouring (any colours)
- Washing-up liquid
- Cotton buds
- A shallow dish (a dinner plate works perfectly)
Ready to Try It?
1. Pour a thin layer of milk into the dish.
2. Add a few drops of different food colouring to the milk – you can use one single colour or drops of various colours.
3. Dip a cotton bud into the washing-up liquid
4. Gently touch the cotton bud’s tip to the milk’s surface. Watch as the milk magic happens and the colours swirl and mix!
Explanation of the experiment:
Just as washing up liquid affects oil on a dirty frying pan, it also reacts to the fats in the milk. The washing-up liquid molecules chase the fatty molecules in the milk as they try to attach to them. This causes the food colouring to be pushed and shoved around the dish, creating an explosion of colour! If you did not add the food colouring to the milk, the reaction as the washing up liquid molecules chased the milk molecules would be difficult to see. When the washing-up liquid successfully catches and attaches to the fatty milk molecules, the colours will stop moving.
Science STEAM words:
Experiment, reaction, chemistry, molecule, test, observe.
💡 Top Tips: Take it slowly!
Try this experiment with different types of milk (like skimmed or semi-skimmed) to see how the results change!
P.S. Share your colourful creations with us using #DoodleSTEAM – we’d love to see your results!
Please contact Denise Lakes, Literacy and STEAM Co-ordinator (denise.lakes@cdi.ie) for further details and information on bringing Doodle STEAM to your school.
Denise Lakes: Literacy and STEAM Co-ordinator
+353 1 414 7362 | denise.lakes@cdi.ie
