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Heat makes some materials expand, and it makes others shrink. In this experiment, learners will use unique shrinking properties of recycled plastic (solid polystyrene—general purpose recyclable Plastic #6) to create ornaments, jewelry, a guitar pick and much more. This resource contains an explanation of the molecular makeup of plastic and polymers, tips for parents/teachers, and cool links. [Activity is publicly available through a web crawler capture on Archive.org. Activity write-up only, images are unavailable.]
- 10 to 30 minutes
- 30 to 45 minutes
- 1 cent - $1 per student
- Ages 4 - 11
- Activity
- English
Quick Guide
Materials List (per student)
- Solid polystyrene (general purpose recyclable Plastic #6, tops of food containers work very well)
- Toaster oven
- Markers (Dry Erase or Permanent)
- Sandpaper
- Hole punch
- Spatula
- Tongs
- Oven mitt
- Ribbon (optional)
- Scissors
Subjects
-
Physical Sciences
-
Heat and Thermodynamics
- Heat and Temperature
-
Chemistry
- Chemical Bonding
- Chemical Reactions
-
Structure and Properties of Matter
- Atomic Structure
- Volume and Density
-
Heat and Thermodynamics
-
The Nature of Science
-
The Scientific Process
- Conducting Investigations
-
The Scientific Process
Informal Categories
- Arts and Crafts
Audience
To use this activity, learners need to:
- see
- touch
Learning styles supported:
- Links STEM to other topics of interest such as arts and humanities
- Involves hands-on or lab activities
Other
Access Rights:
- Free access
By:
Source Collection
- TryScience
Rights:
- All rights reserved, Louisville Science Center,