SMMARTideas

SMMART SCIENCE: CURDS AND WHEY

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This activity demonstrates a chemical change. It is also a great activity to demonstrate how milk curdles.

You will need to:

· Add 4 tsp. of white vinegar to 1 ½ cups of skim milk.

· Microwave the mixture for about a minute.

· After a minute, the milk and vinegar will be separated into two parts, a liquid and a solid. The vinegar created a chemical reaction by separating the milk proteins into two parts, a solid (curds) and a liquid (whey).

· When you stir the milk, the curds become a blob.


When the liquid is drained off, you can combine the blob into one big lump and let it cool. Then the protein curd is malleable and you can squish and play with it. If you leave it out, it will harden.

Recite “Little Miss Muffet” with your child. Give your child some cottage cheese to eat and discuss how “curds and whey” are made. Your child may enjoy acting out the nursery rhyme, quietly enjoying her cottage cheese until the spider (you) jumps beside her and your “Miss Muffet” runs away into another room.

So, sit on your tuffet and commence creating some curds and whey!

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You can find this and other activities at: http://pbskids.org/teachers/

Lisa