"The greatest fine art of the future will be the making of a comfortable living from a small piece of land."
-Abraham Lincoln

Bouncy Balls

Despite the rough December we've had, life and homeschooling must go on. So, we've been learning the very basics about polymers. We started with a basic definition and have moved on to the best part, the experiments! Our first project: Make our own bouncy balls!

We made our first bouncy balls from a store bought kit.  They've turned out pretty well.  They bounce without falling apart which was something I was a little worried about.  My kids managed to make them without creating a huge mess, another thing I was worried about.  The crystals come in several fun colors and come with resealable plastic baggies plus two different molds so you can make all kinds of different concoctions.  There are supposed to be enough supplies to make 21 different bouncy balls which is enough to make it worth the $10 I spent for the kit IF the supplies stretch that far.  We'll have to wait and see.

Next up on the project list is a more involved bouncy ball project found here.  Then we will make our own slime.  As the household cleaning lady, I'm kind of dreading that experiment.   And then last, but certainly not least, we will try making our own silly putty. Part of the idea here is to help the kids realize just how many different things in their world are polymers and help them identify which things are not polymers like metal or brick.  

2 comments:

HossBoss said...

What a fun project! I just got approval for a week off in March and am hoping to have my two grandsons here while they're on spring break. They're 13 and 6 and I think they would have a great time with this.

Thanks for the ideas and the link!

The Craftivist said...

Kids seem to get so much more enjoyment out of things when they had a hand in making them!