How to Make Butter with Kids

Wondering how to make butter with kids? It is a simple science activity packed with big fun for children of all ages. You can make butter from heavy cream or fresh raw cream in a jar today!

Learning how to make butter is a fun natural science experiment for kids of all ages!

This is an activity that I have done with my school kids for years, from pre-school to high school. It’s a fascinating process to watch the cream suddenly form butter after just a few minutes of shaking!

Now I’m blessed to be working with my own son and we were able to enjoy this fun life science experiment with fresh raw cream from our local cows!

In order to make butter with kids, you’ll need a few things:

Full fat cream, heavy whipping cream, or fresh cream from a cow (I haven’t tried it, but I don’t think goat milk works the same way)
A Jar – we used a half pint mason jar
2 polished rocks- marbles also work well. Give them a scrub before they go in the jar. Also, make sure whatever you use in the jar doesn’t have chips in it that might flake off more during the butter making process.

Now the fun part where you make butter begins!

Step One:

Fill the jar halfway full with cream (regardless of jar size). The cream will turn to butter faster if it’s at room temperature.

Put polished rocks or marbles in jar with the cream.

Step Two:

Start shaking! This part is 100% for the kids to do as long as they want- they might get tired though, ha! Shake for about 4-10 minutes (depending on the quality of the cream) until the butter fat separates from the buttermilk.

This was what my son looked into the jar and saw! He was so shocked and surprised that he had made BUTTER!!

Step Three:

Drain buttermilk away from butter, but don’t toss the buttermilk! Save it for biscuits!

Step Four:

Remove the rocks/marbles from the butter and set them aside to wash later.

Step Five:

Rinse butter in COLD water, pressing with the back of a metal spoon over and over to remove excess buttermilk. Change the water every few minutes until it’s clear.

This step is very important because the butter will go rancid very quickly if buttermilk is left in the mix!

Step Six:

Remove the butter from the water and press briefly to remove excess water. Add salt to taste (optional) and mix well.

Eat the butter your kids made however you all like it best! We like to have it on warm homemade bread!

NOTE:Buttermilk is great for drinking if you’re going to drink it right away, but after about a day it’s pretty sour and perfect for baking!

Science of Making Butter With Kids

The science of making butter with kids is simpler than it seems: the fat in cream is suspended within a thin membrane.

The shaking process along with the beating of the rocks/marbles breaks down the membrane and allows the fat cells to stick together. Together, those cells form butter!

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