Our Milk Plastic Investigation
In grades two through eight, we continued our science fair project studying how different kinds of milk make plastic. We analyzed four different kinds of milk and made plastic again. This batch will take about a week to dry, and we will be checking it out next week in class to see what everyone's creations look like. The students crafted really cool, sparkly cookie cutter shaped necklaces to wear their milk creations.
Practicing the Scientific Method
While doing these hands-on activities, we are analyzing essential concepts such as what a hypothesis is. We are making predictions, collaborating, and gathering both qualitative and quantitative observations throughout our work. As always, we use claim, evidence, and reasoning to construct our final conclusions.
The Science of Casein and Curds
The way milk works scientifically is that animal milk contains a protein called casein. When you change the pH of milk, which is what we do when we add vinegar, the casein proteins clump together. That reaction is what we use to create the plastic. If you have ever heard the children's rhyme about Little Miss Muffet eating her curds and whey, we are isolating the curds. We take the curds out of the milk and use them to make super cool plastic pendants.
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