BioColor® Flowers

Summer flowers are in full bloom so it's time to be inspired by the brilliant colors of nature. Children love making these simple fold-over flowers using brilliant BioColor®.

Simply take white construction paper, fold it in half, and place dots of BioColor® along the middle of the fold. Re-fold the paper and press around the BioColor®. Open the fold and let the BioColor® dry thoroughly. Once dry, cut out your flower shape and attach a craft stick stem. Create leaves from additional construction paper or painted paper plates. Glue them together and enjoy as individual flowers. Or better yet, create an elaborate class mural and have everyone paint the background and then add their own flowers. You'll find lesson plans for both these ideas in Smart Art 2.

Enjoy your summer and keep those gardens blooming!

"Ocean in a Bottle" - Creative Outdoor Science

It's summer again and the perfect time for outdoor activities. Ocean in a Bottle captivates children and leads the way to science discoveries. Simply add Colorations® Liquid Watercolor and BioColor Shimmer Powder to plain water in any clear plastic bottle. Cap tightly and shake it up vigorously. You'll immediately discover your bottle is full of swirling "oceans" of shimmery colored waves that stay in motion long after you've stopped shaking your bottle.

What's happening here? What principle of science does this exciting project illustrate? Water molecules, or H20, are invisible to the eye. If you shake up a water bottle, the water molecules begin swirling around quickly but you can't see them move because they're invisible to the eye. In this project you are "tagging" the water molecules with color and shimmer powder (a non-toxic micro glitter) which enables you to see the water and how it is set in motion as you shake it up. There is so much to the world around us that we cannot see without a microscope. Welcome to the fascinating world of earth science!

Complete directions are outlined in the Smart Art Lesson Plan attached. Instead of Colorations® Sticker Glue, use Self Adhesive Art Foam Shapes to decorate each bottle. Enjoy your summer!