The primary section students of St Lawrence High School and junior college performed a fun experiment with milk, food color and a drop of liquid soap. This experiment has always been a favourite with every new batch of students and even this year it left the students amazed as some very unusual interactions took place between all the three elements used.

This experiment demonstrated the property of surface tension and the effect that soap, a surfactant, has on the surface tension of milk. Students used soap in milk with food coloring on the surface to visualize the effect of soap on the surface tension of milk. Through this they learnt how this interaction causes the fat particles in the milk to move and create swirls of color.

This session was a creative way to engage students in basic chemistry concepts that they could immediately connect with the world around them. They also understood how each component has its own properties that then cause the different reactions.