Props for Science Activity : Homemade Clay (with little weird story)

Im going to tell a really ‘touching’ yet ‘awesome’ story, between me and my lovely Mr. Wiki...

Once upon a time, i was struggling surfing on the internet beach when suddenly i met this guy, a really great helper that i used to meet before, Mr. Wiki. when i asked him whether i can find the meaning of Clay is, Mr. Wiki said "Clay is a fine-grained natural rock or soil material that combines one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter", but hell no Mr. Wiki, we are not gonna talk about that kind of clay. i was begging him to look up for another file, then Mr. wiki went to his mind palace to find what i really want. he came with a really big box full of paper, he rummaged for awhile till he found a little square paper inside, he smirked and pointed at me "are you looking for the meaning of Polymer Clay?" oooh yes, absolutely i am! "Polymer clay is a type of hardenable modeling clay based on the polymer polyvinyl chloride (PVC)" he continued, then i asked him how much do i have to spend for it. "it's about 50K for its little bar, but it depends on the brand and the colour" i was about to faint, but Mr. Wiki held me tight. with teary eyes, he's waking me up "hold yourself dear, dont worry you can make it by yourself. i will ask my master, Mr. Goo, to find an easiest way to make it" he's rushing went to his master's room and came back with a big smile. ok dear, here i will lead you the way ...

“First thing you need to do is collect all the ingredients, no problem, you can find it everywhere. here’s the list”

1. Glue (in Indonesia, you can use Fox glue)
2. Corn starch (i used to call it maizena) 
3. Baby oil (for scent) 
4. Coloring

“Im not sure how to measure it, just use your sense, ok?” he continued. Here what i made after: 

• Combine 3 Tbs of corn starch, 1 Tbs of glue with 2 drops of baby oil in a bowl

• Use your bare hand or spoon to mix all together till combined well (if the dough still sticky, you can add more corn starch) 
• After you get a really good dough, you can add the coloring. (for how many drops do we need for the coloring, it depends on its quality)

                                   Now, we're ready to make an object!

You can use this dough to make many things, they will dry in a day or more. Here i used it to make the props for science. I asked the 6 graders to make a summery of ‘Animal Reproduction’ check the video bellow..
 

Beside 6 graders, i asked the 10 graders as well. i used the idea to explain about the Bacteriofag Cycle. 

This props really helped me to gain the kids interest and their team work. while they arranged the models on the cardboard, i explained the materials to them so that they still get to learn and play in one time.

science should be fun, right?