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THE SCIENCE LAB

Make & Do Activity Kit

500 Harris St Ultimo

PO Box K346 Haymarket NSW 1238

Australia

Tel: 02 6217 0111

http://play.powerhousemuseum.com

This work is licensed under the Creative

Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-

ShareAlike 2.5 License.

Gelatine decorations

The different properties of gelatine, when heated andmixed with water, can be used to make stained glass

decorations. Decorate your Christmas tree, hang

them in a window or decorate a gift.

Time:20 minutes + 2-3 days hardening

Difficulty:Hints: Lighter colours work best for this activityas light will pass through the gelatine more easily. Thehot water steps should be done by an adult.

Adult step:Put 5

tablespoons of water into a

saucepan and bring to the

boil. Drop in 1-2 drops of

food colouring at this stage

if you want colour.

1.

Adult step:Turn down

to a low heat. Pour in 3

tablespoons of gelatine

powder while stirring. Mix

until dissolved.

2.

Adult step: Keep on low

heat for 30 seconds more

or until the mixture thickens.

Pour mixture into the plastic

lid.

3.

At this stage add the glitter

evenly to the gelatine and

mix. With a spoon, push any

froth or bubbles to the side

of your lid as they will cloud

your decoration surface.

4.

Allow to cool and harden

for about 45 minutes. Then

gently lift the edge and peel

back your gelatine from the

lid.

5.

Using the templates and

a butter knife or biscuit

cutters, cut out your shapes.

Use the straw to cut a hole

at the edge to thread with

ribbon. See Drying notes.

6.

hot water

a saucepan

mixing spoon

tablespoon

a butter knife

a straw

powdered gelatine

a plastic lid with lip

narrow ribbon

silver or gold glitter

What you will need:

Optional:

500 Harris st. Ultimo

PO Box K346 Haymarket NSW 1238Australia Tel: 02 9217 0111

http://play.powerhousemuseum.com

Creative Commons Licence for use of this work

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Australia Licence (CC BY-NC 3.0 AU)

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/au/

food colouring biscuit cutters

Drying notes:

The drying stage will take 2-3 days. The gelatine will

tend to dry faster on the outside. This will tend to warp

the shape as it will curl. To prevent this you can keep

turning the shape. When it hardens further, sandwich it

between baking paper and place a heavy book on top.

8/13/2019 Stained glass decorations

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500 Harris St Ultimo

PO Box K346 Haymarket NSW 1238

Australia

Tel: 02 6217 0111

http://play.powerhousemuseum.com

This work is licensed under the Creative

Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-

ShareAlike 2.5 License.

THE SCIENCE LAB

Make & Do Activity Kit

What is going on?

Gelatine is a form of protein

called collagen

Collogen molecules line up to

form fibres. These fibres dont

dissolve in water. The fibres form a network that

holds the cells in place.

When collagen is heated it forms a smaller protein

called gelatine. Gelatine does dissolve in water.

When gelatin cools again it makes a semi solid

mass or gel. Your gelatin decorations will set hard

like plastic in 2-3 days.

Did you know?Collagen in your own body

Collagen is found in the bodies of all animals,

including our own. It makes up more than a quarter

of all protein content in a mammals body.

It is an important structural protein and is mostly

found in tendons, ligaments and skin as well as

corneas, cartilage, bones and blood vessels.

Collagen is an ancient glue

Collagen can also be made into an effective

adhesive. Glue made from collagen was used by

ancient Egyptians 4 000 years ago. 1 500 year old

Native American bows have been found that used

collagen glues to hold them together.

The oldest collagen glue ever found was carbon-

dated to more than 8 000 years ago. It had been

used as a protective lining inside rope baskets and

to glue the handles onto stone utensils.

Gelatine decorations

What else can I do?

Different colours shapes and sizes

This activity can be done using different colours

of food colouring as well as different sizes and

shapes. Experiment with glitters, sequins and other

additives.

Below is an example of decorations made with

biscuit cutters and coloured with red and green

food colouring. Some of the shapes have 2 colours.

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