a little science with breakfast

So you saw this science experiment post right?  You all got it!

These magic rings are craft sticks!

So here’s what happened.  I was playing around on Pintrest and found this Bracelet idea.  Of course I couldn’t even wait until after breakfast to get started.  Notice the science journal?  That’s where we wrote our initial observations and what we thought might happen.

We tried soaking them in water, checking them every 15 minutes.   We decided to switch our technique pretty quickly.  (I left these soaking… just to see.  Final verdict?  Even after 24 hours they would not bend.)

Boiling, however, worked like a charm.  After 15 – 20 minutes in the boiling water these little wooden sticks were bendable!  M and M snapped all of the sticks they tried (I guess they didn’t have a very soft touch.)  The experiment was still a success and they enjoyed watching me ease them into cups.

I tried a few different size cups.  That might be another experiment because only a couple of our bracelets actually fit.

We dried them in the cups for 24 hours.

Want to see the cute Valentine Bracelets we made with them?

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It's Playtime at hands on : as we grow

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34 Comments

  1. We did this but instead of bracelets we make napkin holders! Great way to get tons of cheap holiday/seasonal holders.

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  3. I was wondering if using the microwave instead of the stove would work. I am a preschool teacher and have no access to a stove in our school. We do have a microwave. Just curious.

  4. We tried this at work, but couldn’t get the stick to bend. Even after boiling for a longer period of time they just broke. Is there a certain kind of stick which works better?

    1. Hmmm… We just used big box of craft stick I got at a thrift store. There wasn’t anything special about them. What a bummer. I hope you didn’t have a group of kids waiting! 🙁

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  6. I am a youth leader and this an excellent activity the girls can finish in one day/afternoon. GENIUS?

  7. I just finished getting some into cups to dry.

    I used Elmer Jumbo Craft Sticks and I boiled them for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure they didn’t stick together or anything like that. Worked like a charm. I can’t wait until we decorate them 🙂

    Thanks for the awesome craft idea!

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