Lantern Moon: Chemistry in primary school with Petra Mischnick and the wallpaper paste experiment

It’s sticky and kind of fun: wallpaper paste. But what is it made of and why does it jump like a ball if you squeeze it thightly and smash it to the ground even though it is a liquid?

Petra Mischnick is a chemist and does research on the ingredients of food: For example she investigates how glue can be won from cereals and potatoes. In this unit she presents simple experiments for primary students showing them how to investigate the characteristics of starch, e.g. the students mix cornflour with water and see what happens to the starch paste when it is at rest, stirred or squeezed.

This unit is taken from the brochure "Latern Moon and Hot Ears". Science teachers from Austria, Germany and Italy worked out nine biographical texts for primary school students about contemporary scientists and engineers.

The texts tell how they started out in their professions and sometimes which curious experiences were linked to it. Each chapter includes fun and easy experiments and proposals for projects, such as making a rotating LED disc or a walnut candle.