Of Plastics, Polymers, and Pinterest

If you homeschool, and have not found pinterest, you need to -- fast! For us it's a great place to find ideas for science experiments, craft projects, and so much more.  Trust me.  You will not regret it. 

So it was on that note that this morning we set out to make plastic, after having found a cool science experiment on pinterest over the weekend.  We learned a little about plastics and polymers, and then we made bouncing balls.  This is the tutorial we used. 

Okay, in advance, let me tell you a few things we learned.  First of all, they will not be as clear as the picture there, but it's still definitely worth the experiment.  Secondly, they are not going to hold together as beautifully as a commercially-manufactured bouncy ball.  In that, if you whack it really really hard, it will bust open, however, that was one of the coolest parts of it for us, as they are amazing inside.  One last thing, stir it into a ball, and start rolling it in your hands before it's too hard to stir.  Okay, that said, here we are doing it.

 

We're rolling, rolling, rolling.

   Rolling, rolling, rolling

 Look, we made bouncy balls!

 

This isn't a clean one, so, yay, do it in the kitchen. :)