inspiredkids: 6.3.12 - Field trip to Taman Warisan Pertanian

6.3.12 - Field trip to Taman Warisan Pertanian

We went on a field trip to Taman Warisan Pertanian in Putrajaya. We started slightly late, after 10 am. Admission fee was RM2 per adults, RM9 for children age 3 and above (for their educational package) and we shared out the cost of the buggy.

The place was so large that riding the buggy was the best decision ever.

We save many local plants. However, it wasn't the season for fruits, so we didn't manage to pick up any.

Pineapple plants

A scarecrow in a paddy field

Misai Kuching

Cocoa fruit

Cocoa seed

E, who had an eye for collecting gifts from nature found this rubber seed

Then came the main highlight of our tour. We were shown how rubber was tapped and processed.

How rubber is processed.

Pressing the rubber (like making roti canai)

Putting the rubber sheet through a roller

Another time through the roller. It imprints lines onto the rubber sheet.

The sheet is then left in a pail of water to wash off the formic acid.

It is then left to dry and later smoked.

The smokehouse.

Inside the smokehouse. Just imagine the smelly smoky rubber smell!

This is how it looks like after being smoked.

Then we were had an activity where we learnt how to maker a rubber ball or something like an eraser.

Formic acid is poured into each container to coagulate the latex which have been mixed with poster paints.

Stirring the latex

It later hardened and became a springy ball. Later at home, I tried it on a pencil mark and it erased the mark, just like an eraser. We were told that the rubber would turn smelly after a day and we would have to throw it away. We were advised to remove any excess water so that the rubber would not to turn smelly. However, in our case, the rubber did not turn smelly, it had a nice rubber smell instead.

After that, the children tried their hands at grating coconuts the traditional way.