What's New!

Take and Makes for this project will be available at area PPLD libraries beginning Friday, Nov. 5, 2021.

Supplies and Directions:

Materials we provide: Dry Erase Marker
Materials you provide: Glass or ceramic surface (Pyrex pans, plates, bathtubs, etc.), Water

1. Draw a picture on your smooth glass/ceramic surface with a dry erase marker.
2. Cover the drawing with some water (the warmer the better).
3. Watch while your drawing lifts off the surface and floats around on the water!
4. You can push the drawing around to your heart’s content.
5. After you have watched your drawings come to life in the water, stick your hand into the swirling color and it will stick to your skin like a tattoo!

TIPS:

• You will be more successful if you draw a solid picture (e.g. a solid shape).
• When the drawing lifts off the surface, it will not maintain its shape.
• The skin tattoo will wash off very easily.

This works because dry erase markers are mostly made up of alcohol and a release agent made of silicon oils. When you write on the plate or Pyrex dish, the alcohol evaporates and just leaves behind the ink and release agent. We all know that oil and water don’t mix, so the ink with the oils in the release agent just float to the top!

Take and Makes for this project for ages 9-12 will be available at area PPLD libraries beginning Friday, Oct 29, 2021.

Supplies and Directions:

Supplies Included: Mini glass bottle, jump ring, metal eye hook, keyring, mini recipe card
Supplies Needed (from home): scissors, pliers, clear glue.

1. Cut out the DIY mini recipe card (there’s an extra just in case). Remove the tape from the cork and discard. Take the cork out of the bottle and remove the metal eye hook and the jump ring. Place the recipe card in the bottle.
2. Screw the metal eye hook into the center of the top of the cork by hand.
3. Take the jump ring and loop it through the metal eye hook and the end of the key ring to connect the cork to the keyring.
4. Use pliers to close the jump ring.
5. Apply glue to the edges of the cork, and place in the bottle. Put the cork back in the bottle, pressing down to help seal the glue. Be careful since the bottle is made of glass!

Materials Needed:

• Biodegradable Packing Peanuts
• Black Permanent Marker
• Small Bowl
• Water

Directions:

1. Use a black permanent marker to draw a ghost face on each packing peanut. Remember, they MUST be biodegradable packing peanuts. (That means they are made of starch, not polystyrene.)
2. Fill a small bowl with room temperature water.
3. Place one ghost on top of the water and watch what happens.

You will start to see small bubbles appearing on the sides of the packing peanut ghost. And then the ghost will disappear right before your eyes! Your results may depend on the type of Biodegradable Packing Peanuts you use. (about 5 – 10 min.)
If the melting packing peanuts are taking too long to disappear, try using hot water to help speed up the process.

Why Do Biodegradable Packing Peanuts Melt?
These new packing peanuts are made out of biodegradable corn starch, which means they break down easily instead of just sitting in the garbage dump for years and years like the older style ones. The water helps break them down even faster whether water temperature will affect the speed they dissolve.

• How fast do the ghosts dissolve in different temperatures of water? Get a stopwatch and time it.
• Make a chart to record your results.