Milk plastic

We have just completed an experiment to turn milk into plastic! What it is really usefull for is to show children simply and quickly with little mess how milk is made up of liquid and solid. I thought some of you might be interested since you would no doubt have the ingredients at home and unlike the plastic (slime) from glue, water and borax, it is quick and not as messy (actually the silme itself is the messiest part when the children are playing with it).

Here are the instructions - they are written for children and J and W pretty much did it by themselves.

Ingredients:

skim milk
white vinegar
microwave proof bowl
strainer




1. I bet you've heard the nursery rhyme "Little Miss Muffet." Remember how she sat on her tuffet eating her curds and whey? But, do you know what curds and whey are?
2. Here's a fun way to find out:
3. Check with a grown-up before you begin.
4. Add 4 teaspoons of white vinegar to 1 1/2 cups of skim milk.
5. Microwave the mixture for about a minute. If you're not allowed to use the microwave, be sure to ask an adult to help you.
6. After a minute, the milk and vinegar will be separated into two parts, a liquid and a solid.
7. Here's what happened to the milk. By adding the vinegar, you have created a chemical reaction that separated the milk into two parts, a solid-the curds-and a liquid-the whey.
8. Now, when you stir the milk, the curds become a "blob."
9. When you strain the liquid off, you can make the blob into one big lump.
10. Let it cool off, and then you can play with it. It feels like rubber. The protein in the curds is what makes it act like rubber.
11. You can form the blob into shapes. If you leave it out, it will harden.

We even tasted it, not telling what it was like though, you'll have to try it yourself.