Mad Science Camp: Art and Chemistry

I love Art and Chemistry.  Are they compatible?  Yes!  Start with tie dye.  I use Dharma dyes—even kits.  Use 100 % cotton t-shirts and soak them in a mordant for 20 minutes; mordants allows the dyes to adhere to the cotton shirts.  (Here is a little chemistry of dyes.). After the kids dye their shirts, I double or triple bag each shirt and send them home.  My husband helped with tie-dye once at Camp and flipped out.  He has agreed to do Radial Chromatography with alcohol and sharpies.  

Want another really messy artsy chemistry project?  Colorful Lather Printing is perfect.  We use plain index cards.  But, it’s fun to try any paper.  Here is the post with chromatography, colorful leather prints, and nail polish marbling rocks.  As a bonus, our little household is doing Art for the Art Explosion Badge.