Return to The Archive List Do you have a comment or response to this activity, submit it to the Do Science bulletin board. More science activities can be found here: Great for Science Fair projects! While You're Waiting for the Food to Come by Eric Muller, Illustrated by Eldon Doty Hardcover version Paperback version To order or find out more about this book, click on the book cover above or on either cover version. Go to the Do Science Store

Turn a piece of plastic into a work of art and science. Ingredients: - A Number 6 Recyclable plastic container - lots of food comes packed in this type of container (Cut fruit, nuts and bakery items come in these types of containers. Many restaurants use these types of containers to hold "to go" orders. ) - Scissors - Oven - Oven mitt - Aluminum foil - Colored permanent markers The Recipe: 1) Check out your container and make sure it says that it is made out of "number 6" recyclable plastic. Other plastics will not work in this activity. 2) Cut a flat piece from your plastic container (Any piece you cut will flatten in the oven, but it is best to select a flat piece for step 3). 3) Using colored permanent marker pens, draw something on your piece of plastic. Make a cool design. Write your name. Use lots of colors. 4) Pre-heat your oven 350 - 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 5) Get an adult to help you with this next part - Place the plastic on a piece of aluminum foil. Then carefully place the plastic in the oven for about 30 to 45 seconds. Use an oven mitt. 6) You will see the plastic curl and shrink. When it flattens out again, it is done. Carefully remove it from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes. Optional: You may want to compare the size of your piece of plastic before and after heating. Hold it next to a ruler before and after placing it in the oven. If you want to attach your shrunken plastic project on a string (it makes a great necklace or bracelet…), you should punch a hole in the plastic before you heat it. Food for Thought: Did your plastic shrink? If it did, you made a "Shrinky Dink." More then likely, it shrank by about 75% of its original surface area. The material did not vanish; it just got more compact. Heating this type of plastic (No. 6 recyclable) allows the plastic molecules to slide around and reorient themselves into a more compact shape. When it cooled, the molecules became rigid again. Copyright Do Science 2000.