Who would have thought you could make these pretty ornaments from milk and vinegar? Combine science and art this holiday season with a fun Christmas STEAM activity. Christmas time is a fun opportunity for craft projects and homemade ornaments with kids.
Christmas Milk and Vinegar Ornaments
Let’s get right to learning how to turn milk into a plastic like substance… Head to the kitchen, open the fridge and grab the milk!
💡 Want to set this up as a science experiment? See our milk and vinegar experiment.
Supplies:Â
- 1 cup milk
- 4 tablespoons vinegar
- Sharpies
- Cookie cutters
- Strainer
- Paper towel
- Straw
- 5/8 ribbon
Instructions:
STEP 1. Add 1 cup of milk to a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 90 seconds.
STEP 2. Add 4 tablespoons of vinegar into the milk and stir for 60 second. You will notice that the milk solids will separate from the liquid or whey.
STEP 3. Pour the mixture into a strainer and press out all the milk solids. Press paper towel into the strainer to remove any leftover liquid.
STEP 4. Place cookie cutters on another piece of paper towel. Then press your milk solids into the cookie cutter and use a straw to punch a hole in the top of the ornaments.
STEP 5. Let it sit for 48 hours and then carefully remove from the cookie cutter. Then decorate your ornament with a sharpie.
STEP 6. Place a piece of ribbon through the hole and tie it into a loop.
What happens when you mix milk and vinegar?
Really, this milk and vinegar activity does not produce real plastic. The new substance is called casein plastic. If you want to explore real plastic polymers, try some homemade slime!
A chemical reaction occurs between the milk and the vinegar to form the plastic like substance. When the protein in the milk called casein comes in contact with the vinegar, the casein and vinegar do not mix but rather the molecules move around and join forces to make the casein plastic!
The casein becomes these plastic-like blobs that you can strain out and mold into shapes. This is one way of making a simple cheese from milk. Who would have thought!
Free Printable Christmas STEM Cards
More Fun Science Ornaments to Make (STEAM)
💡 Find even more science Christmas ornaments here!
- Jingle Bell Painted Christmas Ornaments
- Sharpie and Alcohol Ornaments
- Binary code Candy Cane ornament
- 3d Printable Shape Ornaments
- Bioplastic Ornaments
- Light Up Circuit Ornaments
Printable Christmas STEM Project Pack
200+ PAGES OF HOLIDAY THEME STEAM, STEM, Science, and Art!
- 25+ Christmas theme science and STEM activities with printable sheets, instructions, and useful information all using easy-to-source materials perfect for limited-time needs. Includes a holiday theme engineering pack with fun, problem-based challenges for kids to solve! NEW observation sheets included.
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- Christmas Screen-free Coding activities include algorithm games, binary code ornaments, and more!
- Explore 6+ Christmas Art Projects with famous artist-inspired activities that combine art history, process art techniques, and more with simple to-do ideas.
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