Fun Stuff

Make Your Own Crayons

(Courtesy of "Ripples" newsletter - produced by SCARCE for the DuPage County Environmental Education Program)

This project is a great way to recycle your broken crayons. You can do this for fun, or you can make gifts for your friend or a favorite teacher. Please ask your parent or other responsible adult to help you with the project, as it involves handling very hot materials.

What you will need:

• Old and broken crayons
• Mold (you can use any shape you like)
• Crock pot
• Spoon to ladle melted crayon wax
• Needle and thread (optional)

Remove the wrappers from the old crayon stubs, and sort by color. Then place the stubs into the crock-pot, set at "high." Stir; heat until melted; reset heat to "low." Spoon liquid into crayon molds. Let them cool and harden - and you have new crayons! Color a box or a coffee tin, and put your crayons in it. A box-full of homemade crayons makes a nice, useful gift. You may wish to include a mold and these directions.

To create a colorful holiday ornament, pierce a still-warm crayon with a threaded needle, or heat needle before piercing it through a cooled crayon. Remember to use a strong enough thread to make a looped hanger.

What great gifts - for teachers, for kids, and for the environment! A happy planet is a clean planet!