This activity combines art, science, and play. I'm not overselling it when I say, it's downright mesmerizing.
Both my boys played with these tirelessly, and it was only until it was bedtime when they were forced to stop (truthfully, I had to confiscate them).
Even my husband said he wanted one for his office. I can just picture him spinning and spinning while on long teleconferences.
Any how, enough already. Here's what we did and how.
All you need is:
Old CDs
Marbles
Plastic bottle caps
Hot glue
Paper (we used printable CD labels)
Markers
On printable CD label stickers, we divided most of
the labels into quadrants or eighths by folding. Then we colored them using markers,
choosing colors that when combined make another color:
blue and yellow = green
black and white = grey
red and yellow = orange
We decorated two additional ones however we felt - one
with dots in a circle, and the other with numerals.
(If you don't have CD labels, cut paper in a circular
shape the same size as the CD and cut a hole in the center, tracing the CD to
get the right size. Then use glue to adhere it. Or use permanent markers and
draw directly on the underside of the CD!)
Once the labels were stuck on, we applied hot glue liberally
around the hole on the bottom of the CD and stuck a marble (the small ones work
perfectly) in. Within a minute, the glue had hardened and the marble was
secure.
Now we applied a ring of glue to the top of the CD around
the center hole (on top of our colored label) and added a plastic cap.
All that was left to do was grip the cap and get our
tops spinning. It was SO much fun to see how the colors blended together. Our dotted
top looked like it had a circular solid grey line on it, which my son was
surprised by.
We studied the tops a long time. Sometimes the color we
expected only appeared when the top's spin began to slow, other times it was
immediately apparent.
This was a perfect indoor activity for a hot summer day.
My youngest made these last summer at Scout camp and played with it a lot.
ReplyDeleteThat's amazing, I'll try to do it with my son, surely he will like it !!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
What a cool idea! I love the color blending one - my kids have been asking about blending colors lately, and this would be perfect to try...maybe this weekend. We're supposed to have rain all weekend and I'm going to need something to entertain them!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to make these with my grandson!
ReplyDeleteJill
a-little-red-wagon
I'm the Editorial Assistant for Fun Family Crafts and I wanted to let you know that we have featured your project! You can see it here:
ReplyDeletehttp://funfamilycrafts.com/color-blending-tops/
Thanks for a wonderful project idea!
What a CLEVER idea! You always come up with the neatest ideas.
ReplyDeleteI featured this at TGIF this week here:http://www.123homeschool4me.com/2013/07/tgif-linky-party-85.html Thanks for sharing your creativity & linking up. I hope to see you linked up again this week.
Have a great weekend,
Beth =)
Wow. I've never heard of this before, Thanks so much for sharing it. An art lesson on blending colours that isn't messy, who knew?
ReplyDeleteLove this!! What a fun idea. I am featuring you tomorrow on Share It Saturday.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a lot of fun! I have so many old CDs that I knew I was keeping for a reason! Thanks for sharing. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat activity but I used hot glue but after a few spins the marble came away from the cd. Going to try Araldite or another stronger glue. I printed a photo of the grandchildren on each cd for them...they loved it.
ReplyDelete