100 Days of Science #13-- Making Plastic From Milk

My boys thought this experiment was pretty neat even though we weren't making REAL plastic.  They were still impressed that we could get a plastic like substance out of milk.



All three of my boys ended up reading in the book how and why this experiment works before we started the project so I didn't bother having anyone making any predictions but I was pleased that they cared enough to want to know all about it!

For the experiment we needed:

1 cup whole milk
4 tsp. vinegar
a pot and the stove
a mesh strainer

First we measured one cup of milk and poured it into our pan.



Then we heated the milk up so it was hot but not boiling. Then we immediately removed it from the stove.



We measured out our vinegar and added it to the milk, stirring for one full minute.



We strained the milk out over a bowl (though you could easily do this over the sink too).



Once we were sure all the liquid was out we turned our rubbery milk out onto a plate and the boys all wanted to touch and feel it.  It's soft and easily sculpted at this point.



Once they were done with it we set it aside to dry for the night and when we checked on it the next day it was harder and more like plastic.


By adding the vinegar to the milk, the acid in the vinegar causes the milk to separate.  The fats and casein protein are what makes your more solid pieces that feel rubbery and harden into a plastic like substance.

Casein molecules link up and behave like plastic; it's what makes cheese so stringy on a pizza.

I really wanted to re- try this experiment with the boys using lemon juice; which I know is also acidic but we didn't have enough milk for a second experiment.

Others in this series:

1. Bernoulli's Principle
2. Ecotarium Trip 
3. Air Molecule Experiment
4. Kitchen Science
5. Corn Maze Field Trip 
6. Birds of Florida 
7. Making Static Music
8. Un-Make It Monday
9. Wind Tunnel Experiment
10. Biomes Field Trip
11. Disappearing Coin Trip
12. Snuffing out a Candle With Baking Soda


Linking Up With: Wonderful Wednesdays,

Oh My Heartsie Girls WW 650 x 635

Comments

  1. Jennifer HumphriesDecember 28, 2017 at 7:44 AM

    This is the coolest idea ever! Pinned :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. CrystalDecember 31, 2017 at 6:22 PM

    This next on our list to try. Has your family tried making an art project of sorts with the unmolded plastic yet? I wonder what the possibilities would be?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3December 31, 2017 at 7:06 PM

      We didn't even think of that.. do you think it would get smelly after a bit?

      Delete
  3. CrystalJanuary 1, 2018 at 8:39 PM

    Good question. We will give this a try and find out(:

    ReplyDelete
  4. Marilyn LesniakJanuary 2, 2018 at 10:15 AM

    Congratulations! Your post was my feature pick at #WWBlogHop this week. Visit me at https://www.marilynstreats.com on Tuesday evening to see your feature! All hosts choose their own features from the comments left on their blog so be sure to stop by and see your feaure. I invite you to leave more links to be shared and commented upon. Please be sure to leave your link number or post title so we can be sure to visit!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Favorite TV Shows Growing Up in the 80's and early 90's

Image
Do you remember the TGIF lineups on Friday nights? I can remember planning sleepovers and time with friends around TV Show lineups of our favorite shows... or else trying to set the VCR to record our favorite shows if we weren't going to be home. And through the years I had SO MANY favorites! Growing pains aired in 1985 which put me around age 8 and it stayed on the air until I was 15 or so; I'm pretty sure most people in my age group watched mostly for Kirk Cameron and all his antics.  I still have a soft spot for family sit-coms!  The Facts of Life aired when I was just 2  and stayed on the air until I was 11 so I'm sure the episodes I remember so fondly were either some of the later ones and then reruns shown later on when I was old enough to watch from the beginning. I think everyone would have loved an Edna Garret in their lives.   Benson another sitcom that began airing when I was just 2 and was done by the time I was 9 (another one I must have watched mai...
Read more

Things That Make Me Laugh

Image
I loved the challenge of this week's list for our 26 lists link up.  I don't know about you but I really need to laugh more lately.  It's such a great stress reliever. 1.  Books-- I love a good funny book that makes me laugh out loud.  I haven't read one in a while but if you have any recommendations I'm all ears.  The last book I can remember making me laugh was the Un-Honeymooners. 2  The boys being silly. 3.  Watching shows like America's Funniest Videos or Family Feud. 4. My husband.  Most people don't realize it but he's actually pretty funny and often makes me laugh. 5.  Whenever my sisters/ family get together and we get to reminiscing (particularly if my Aunt Elaine is around) we end up laughing so hard at all the old family stories that we are all in tears by the end of the night.  It's fabulous. 6. Movies like Mom's Night Out, Christmas Vacation, and Grown Ups make me laugh out loud. 7.  When my ...
Read more

Making Gift Card and Money Holders Using Scrapbooking and Cardmaking Supples

Image
I don't tend to keep a lot of crafting supplies on hand so when I saw this month's de-stash challenge I wasn't sure what I was going to make.  I finally realized that with so many of my Christmas gifts being cash and gift cards this year that I needed to make up some fun paper crafting/ creative ways to gift them.   I still want my nieces and nephews to have something to open so I pulled out my papers and stamps and made up some cute little money/gift card holders. They were much easier to make than I thought.  The first one I worked on was to hold some oversized Nintendo gift cards.  I made a standard sized card and folded down one corner of the card front.  Then I ran my double sided tape along the bottom an 1/2 way up the side creating a cute little pocket.  Finally I added some cute embellishments and ribbons.   Voila! A simple and easy gift card holder for those larger sized gift cards.  The bulk of the tweens and teens on my list j...
Read more

Making a Sugar Cookie "Gingerbread" House

Image
 Alec really wanted to try making his own gingerbread house this year without using a premade kit.  We talked about how we never really eat the house since they don't taste very good.  Years ago we gave up on the frosting that comes in the kit and began making our own so we thought perhaps we should try making our our house too. Only problem is that no one in the house likes gingerbread.  We talked about trying to make the house using a sugar cookie recipe.  Alec was so excited at that idea since he just LOVES sugar cookies.   He found a recipe online for a simple sugar cookie recipe and mixed up the dough.  He rolled it out an cut it to the size of our cookie sheets-- we had read that it's easiest to cut the house pieces out after the dough has been baked and is still warm and soft because then you don't have to worry about any of the pieces losing their shape while baking. I had picked out a simple cookie cutter set on Amazon and as soon as the ...
Read more

Dollar Store Candy Cane Wreath

Image
Today I am linking up with some fellow bloggers for a Dollar Store craft challenge.  I don't often participate in these challenges since I try to stay away from our local Dollar Stores; I find they can be quite dangerous for me!  I knew this was the perfect time to find some inexpensive holiday decorations though and I just LOVE how my wreath turned out!  I hope you stop by and see what the other hosts are sharing. Meet this month's co-hosts! Across the Blvd | Purple Hues & Me This Autoimmune Life | Our Unschooling Journey Domestic Deadline | Sew Crafty Crochet Stone Cottage Adventures | Sum of Their Stories | Two Chicks & a Mom I bought the candy cane wreath base and a few rolls of mesh (not knowing how many I'd need I bought waaay to many; I only ended up using one white roll and one red roll. Using some chenille stems I already had on hand I attached the mesh to the wreath base trying to alternate the whit...
Read more