1/52 - things to do with children

Anyone with children knows that the school holidays are here and well underway. Christmas and New Years are done and the hot weeks spread lazily out in front of us. At the 'new old-house' the holidays seem to be whizzing by already as we have a lot of visitors and visits planned. But, there is no doubt there will be days that will seem to last forever....

At the start of every school holidays we write of all this things we would like to do; everything from an IKEA meatball lunch to zoo visits to making a new skirt. We sat down before Christmas and our summer holiday list includes sewing, museums, a party (for a super special just-turned-6 year old), french knitting, gardening, and science experiments.

Minnie, like most children, has a real interest in the sciences, from the workings of her inner ear to the tectonic plates and the many stages of an urban sewage treatment plant. I recently read that there has been a marked decline in the number of senior school students taking science subjects, which I am sure you agree is a real shame for the future of science, technology and the engineering fields in Australia (ahem). So to get your little ones involved and interested, try this fun and very visual experiment illustrating surface tension! Yippie for science (perhaps the RMIT can use that as their new slogan...)!

1/52: Easy Science Experiment - 'Magic Milk.'

What you need: Plate or shallow bowl * Jug * Several different colours of food colouring * Washing up liquid.

1. Pour some milk onto the plate or bowl - at least a few mils in depth (a plate with a wide rim is good).
2. Add a few drops of food colouring to the centre of the milk on the plate - use at least a few different colours
3. Drop a small amount of washing up liquid in the centre and watch what happens! No need to stir, move, bump or fiddle - just watch.

What's happening and Why: When you pour the milk onto the plate the fatty milk molecules pull each other together, stretching the surface into an invisible skin - this is called surface tension. When you add the washing up liquid the fatty molecules are 'upset' by the soap liquid and they move apart. This causes the food colourings to swirl and mix without you touching or bumping them.

This experiment and information is from 'Make and Do Science,' Priddy Books, 2010 (ISBN 978-1-84915-298-3)