If you want a quick and easy science experiment for kids, try the fun making butter science experiment. It’s science you can eat!
Welcome to 31 days of creative STEM activities for kids! Each day, we will be posting a fun post about STEM activities (science, technology, engineering, and math). We will have just about 10 posts per topic starting with science.
Today is our first science experiment for kids– making butter!
You’ll also want to check out the ultimate list of summer STEM activities and the ultimate list of summer science experiments.
Making Butter Science Experiment
Kids will love this fun butter making science experiment. Learn about the science of butter making, how to make butter, and why shaking turns cream into butter in this fun science experiment for kids.
For more fun kitchen science, try making taffy slime, making edible bacteria, or making edible plate tectonics.
The Science Behind Making Butter
When cream is shaken, the fat molecules in the cream leave their normal position and clump together. After a while, all of the fat molecules cling together, forming a lump of butter and leaving the buttermilk behind.
Making butter is a perfect science experiment for kids of all ages. Monkey loved watching the fat separate, and even Bo enjoyed shaking up the cream. As long as you have cream at home, this project requires no special ingredients or supplies.
Making Butter Experiment Worksheet
Use this worksheet when completing your butter making experiment!
How to Make Butter
Follow these directions to complete the making butter science experiment.
What you need for the butter in a jar experiment:
- Heavy whipping cream
- Mason jar
- A willing shaker
Supplies for Making Butter at Home
Ball Regular Mouth Mason Jars with Lids and Bands, 16-Ounces (4-Pack)
The Mason Jar Scientist: 30 Jarring STEAM-Based ProjectsHeavy Cream Powder for Whipping Cream, Butter, and Coffee. Keto Friendly and Gluten Free. 1-Year Guarantee (12oz)Sticky Toffee Cotton Terry Kitchen Dishcloth, 8 Pack, 12 in x 12 in, Gray Stripe
Doing the Butter in a Jar Experiment
Fill your mason jar about half way with cream.
Take turns shaking the butter until it is agitated and the fat begins to clump. We found that it took just a few minutes for the fat to start to clump together.
At this stage, the butter looked almost like ice cream with a slightly sandy texture.
After we got tired of shaking the cream, we rolled it up and down the floor for a while before starting to shake it again.
After about 10 minutes of shaking/rolling, the cream was converted into butter. This happened quite suddenly, and much faster than we thought. It only took about one minute of shaking before the cream turned into whipped cream.
This method even seemed faster than when you whip cream with a stand mixer.
Monkey rinsed away the buttermilk and added salt to the butter. We ate it over the next few days and it was delicious!
We also tried the buttermilk, but we decided it was not good at all. It tasted like water with a tiny bit of milk added.
Not so good. It was nothing like the buttermilk sold in grocery stores.
Have you made butter? Of all the easy science experiments we tried this month, making butter was one of our favorites!
