| Contributed
by: Meg in MO megabreu@ccp.com Overview: A charm that is created by heating and shrinking
recyclable plastic.
Age: For all ages
Estimated Activity Time: 30 minutes
Materials:
* Solid polystyrene (general purpose recyclable Plastic #6)
* Toaster oven
* Colored pencils
* Sandpaper
* Hole punch
* Spatula
* Tongs
* Oven Mitt
* Ribbon (optional)
* Scissors
Preparation:
1. Cut plastic into 3 1/2 X 4 in. squares.
2. Pre-heat toaster oven to 200 degrees
Directions:
1. Sandpaper one side of the plastic completely so that it can be drawn on. In its
initial state, the plastic is too smooth, so the sandpaper creates a
rough surface.
2. Round the corners of the plastic so that the sharp edges will not cause injury.
3. Draw any design on the rough surface using the colored pencils. The more color that you
use and the larger the design, the more vibrant the final
product will be. You can cut the plastic into any shape that you like. If you wish to
create a necklace, use the hole punch to place a hole in the top
part of the shrinky dink This must be done before you place it in the oven.
4. Place the plastic on the metal tray in the oven and watch it SHRINK!! It will start to
melt and curl up, but eventually unfold into its initial form after it has finished
shrinking.
5. Remove the plastic from the oven immediately after it unfolds using a spatula or tongs.
Place it on a dry hard surface and flatten it out with the spatula. The plastic will be
very hot so please use caution when handling. The use of an oven mitt is
recommended.
6. After it has cooled down, place the ribbon through the hole if you have chosen to
create a necklace.
The Science:
Plastic is composed of polymers in the form of a carbon chain. A polymer is a chemical
compound or mixture of compounds formed by polymerization (a chemical reaction in which
two or more small molecules combine to form larger molecules) and consisting essentially
of repeating structural units. Polystyrene is an extremely versatile polymer. The polymer
molecules are bonded together on a long chain. Heat excites them causing them to move
around and come closer together, thus becoming more dense. Its volume doesn't change. This
molecular activity causes the plastic to shrink.
http://www.mos.org/learn_more/ed_res/cheapbook/shrinky_dinks/
Contributed by: Deanne deanneradford@hotmail.com
We went crazy with shrinky dinks for our camp
necklaces the last two years. Our themes for the last two years have been Reflection of a
Rainbow (ROAR) and Anchor Your Souls in Christ,
so we shrinky dinked a rainbow, with the person's name and the words "Girls Camp
2000" in little clouds at each end of the rainbow, for Anchor Your Souls In Christ we
couldn't afford a pewter anchor so we shrinky dinked an anchor.
Other things we have shrinky dinked: A heart that said music in the middle of it
with a musical staff coming out the side that they received when they participated in
singing. A boot with a fir tree and mountain in the background that they got for hiking, a
frog holding up signs that said "bravo" and "skits" for when they
participated in skits.
One year when we were near the ocean we shrinky dinked a clam shell for when they
beach combed, a cabin that had their name on it, a kayak for when they kayaked, a fish for
when they went fishing---all done in great colors! I found pearlescent color markers that
looked really pretty at Michael's. Another idea besides pony beads is to go to Wal-Mart
where they have really inexpensive beads. We bought yellow smiley faces for when they did
good deeds, a pearl for a special story we told, glittery stars, alphabet beads, beads
that said "love" on them for participating in secret sisters, beads that look
like cat eye marbles. We have even used miniature colored clothes pins to remind them of a
scripture, poms poms that you get at a fabric store by the yard and glued little eyes on
them, miniature pine cones that we dipped the ends in glue and glitter and glued a pony
bead on top so that it could slide onto the necklace, once we even took small dried
flowers and put them between sheets of clear contact paper, punched a whole with a whole
punch and slid that on the necklace. We've even used plain wooden beads that they have
their friends autograph with fine point sharpie markers (we called them signature beads!).
Camp necklaces don't have to be expensive--although shrinky dinks are time consuming
because you have to make them 3 times bigger than you want them to end up (i.e., if you
want a 2 inch finished shrinky dink item, you have to start with a six inch item, so most
of our things ended up about one inch square in size because it takes a while to trace,
color, cut and shrink (don't forget to hole punch a hole to slide it on the necklace
before you shrink!) 25 items. One year at stake camp one of the leaders was assigned camp
necklaces and she shrinky dinked four different items for 150 people. I know she had help
but I think I would lose my mind!
Forgot to mention you can order shrinky dinks on line for cheap at
www.shrinkydinks.com!
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