If you’ve got kids, we’re betting you’ve got a collection of broken crayons in your home. This week for STEAM Saturday, you and your child can turn those old crayon pieces into colorful new crayons! This is a great way to teach your child about repurposing materials. Plus, your future scientist will also learn a cool lesson about the concept of reversible change versus irreversible change.
If you have silicon candle or candy molds in your home, those are ideal because they offer a variety of fun shapes, which adds another layer of creativity to this project. Sometimes, particularly during holiday seasons, these may be available at a dollar store, and you can also find them at a reasonable price in the baking and candy-making section at Walmart. If you don’t have silicon molds, don’t worry! You can also make your repurposed crayons in a muffin tin or using cookie cutters.
Preheat your oven to 275 degrees. While to oven is warming up, peel the paper off your crayons and break them into small pieces. Now it’s time to fill your molds, and anything goes here. You can use the same or similar colors together or try color mixing to see what will happen if you melt two or more colors together.
Place your molds in the oven for 7-8 minutes, or until your crayons are completely melted. Carefully take them out of the oven and set them aside to cool. Once your crayons are completely cooled, you can take them out of the molds and break out the paper for a coloring party!
So, what’s the science behind this colorful project? First, let’s talk about reversible change. Just like when ice melts into water and can be frozen into ice again, crayon wax can be melted, but it won’t stay a liquid unless you keep it heated. The process can be reversed and the crayon will harden again if the wax is cooled.
An example of irreversible change would be baking a loaf of bread. Each element of the bread is being used to make something new, and they cannot go back to their original form. Can you and your child brainstorm more examples of reversible and irreversible change?
As always, get as creative as you want, and above all, have lots of fun learning together!
We’ll see you right back here next Saturday for another STEAM Saturday activity! Scroll through the rest of our website to learn how Critchlow Adkins is Building Brighter Futures for the children and families we serve!
