Moo Glue

Did you know that you can make glue from milk? Today in science club we found that it can be.

After reading about it in a school journal we discovered that in the past and in different cultures glue is made from lots of things such as plant saps, animal bones and hides, cassava root, bread fruit and other vegetables.

The article also talked about a class who made their own glue from milk. We decided to try it out.

Casein is a protein that is found in milk and was used by ancient Egyptians as a glue for boat building and to weatherproof aeroplanes during WWII. Casein is what makes the moo glue work.

To get the casein you add vinegar to milk which makes the milk separate into solids and liquids. The liquids are called whey and the solids are called curds. The curds are full of the protein called casein.

The vinegar curdles the milk. They whey is drained off to leave the curds behind.

Most people thought the curds looked disgusting but soon they were happy to touch and squeeze them.

The next step involves adding baking soda and hot water to the curds. You have to mush up the curds and stir for a long time to turn the mixture into a glue.

The moo glue still didn't look like it would stick things down so we tested it out. These are some of the pictures we made. We think they look great. And yes, the glue did work (mostly!)