Plastic material invented by William Harbutt in 1880, which has a high malleability capacity, can be of very different colors and is made up of zinc, sulfur, oil, cadmium and wax. Plasticine is a polymer composed of a set of small molecules equal to each other linked to each other, it is generally a solid material, however when exposed to high temperatures it can become a liquid state. For children it is one of the preferred materials, this is due to its attractive texture and firmness, in addition to that it is a very useful tool to develop children's motor skills. The German Franz Kolb in the year 1880 invented a material very similar to what was called as Munich artistic plasticine.
The first references to this material date from the end of the 19th century, at that time Professor William Harbutt was in search of a material with which his art students could use and that he himself had not to dry out so quickly, for which began a series of experiments when trying to join different materials, among which were gelatin derived from petroleum refining, calcium salts, and other materials that until now have been secret, the resulting mixture was given the name of plasticine, the name by which it is currently known in Chile and Brazil. By 1900, manufacturing in large numbers began, in the beginning it was only produced in one color gray, but over the years colors were added, until it was adopted as a play material for children, a use that is very widespread today.
The uses that can be given to it are very diverse, among which stand out as a material for games, it is the primary use today, in addition to this, experts say that it is very useful to develop motor skills in children, especially those with disorders hyperactivity. As a resource for the elaboration of artistic works, resulting in paintings that have textures similar to oil. In the elaboration of models, due to its malleability, it allows the elaboration of different shapes which makes it ideal for the elaboration of different structures.
