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As part of our Museum at Home series, you and your family can create your own tie dye paper using just a few common items from around the house! Science Educator Becky Wolfe is ready to show you what to do!
Materials:
- Shaving Cream
- Food coloring
- Paper (cardstock works best, but any paper will work)
- Large pan or plate
- Rubber spatula
Directions:
- Spray a thin layer of shaving cream in the bottom of the pan.
- Squeeze a few drops of different colored food coloring around the pan.
- Use a fork to swirl the color around the shaving cream.
- Put a piece of paper face down on the shaving cream.
- Lift it up carefully.
- Scrape off the shaving cream
- Enjoy your beautiful design!
What's going on:
The reason that the swirls stick to the paper so well has to do with how the particles attract to each other. Shaving cream contains soap. Within the soap there are long ionic species that have a polar (hydrophilic) head and a non-polar (hydrophobic) tail, making it only partially polar.
On the other hand, paper contains cellulose which is polar. Food coloring is also polar. When the index card is applied to the pile of shaving cream the food coloring would rather hang out with the cellulose from the index card than the partially polar shaving cream. The result is a really cool looking piece of paper!
Share your colorful creations with us by using the hashtag #TCMatHome on social media!
