Make Your Own Gelatin Mobile

Gelatin is used to make many things - photographic film, heart valves, and of course fruit-flavored desserts. But did you know you can make a unique mobile with it? Here's how!

What You Will Need:

• 3 envelopes of Plain Gelatin (Knox Unflavored Gelatin works well)
• 5 tablespoons of Water
• Food Coloring
• Plastic Lid with a Rim (margarine tub lids work well) as a mold
• Saucepan
• Paper Towels
• Cookie Cutters
• Drinking Straw
• Scissors
• Cooling Rack

What You Do:

1. Mix 5 tablespoons of water and 3 to 5 drops of food coloring in a saucepan.
2. Place the saucepan on the stove over low heat (adult supervision required).
3. Slowly pour 3 envelopes of unflavored gelatin into the water and stir until it dissolves.
4. Heat and stir for 30 seconds or until the mixture is thick.
5. Pour the mixture into the plastic lid.
6. Carefully push the air bubbles out with a spoon.
7. Let the gelatin cool for 45 minutes.
8. Carefully lift the gelatin from the lid. You've made an elastic gel!
9. Use cookie cutters to make different shapes. Use scissors to make spirals, if desired.
10. Use a plastic drinking straw to make a hole in the gel so you can hang them.
11. Dry your shapes on a cooling rack, or hang them on a string to dry. In 2 or 3 days, the gelatin will be hard like plastic.

Variations:

•  Hang your completed gel shape in front of a window for a dazzling effect.
• Create a mobile using your gel shapes by tying the shapes to a wire coat hanger.

The Science:

Gelatin is a protein called collagen. Collagen molecules line up to make fibers, and these fibers do not dissolve in water. Instead, the fibers form a network that holds cells in place. When collagen is heated, it breaks down to make a simpler protein called gelatin. Gelatin does dissolve in water. When a gelatin solution cools, it makes a semi mass or gel. A network of gelatin molecules trap the water in gelatin. it does this in much the same way as collagen molecules trap water.

Where does gelatin come from? Gelatin is extracted by boiling water (or acid) with bones, tissue, hooves, and ligaments of slaughtered meat-producing animals.