As the Senior Museum Educator I have a reputation for doing strange things. You may find me screwing flamingos onto poles (for the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party), stirring sand into paint (to make textured paintings), or even dropping a dozen eggshells into various liquids (to demonstrate their effect on tooth enamel for dental health week). Luckily, the rest of the staff is very understanding and has yet to comment on the towering pile of toilet paper tubes, broken toys, left over party decorations, and other bric-a-brac that is taking over my desk! They know that it can only mean one thing: Recycled Art Week at KidsQuest!

I love seeing all of the amazing recycled sculptures and inventions that the kids and grownups create doing my favorite week of the year. But if you can’t make it to the museum to join in the fun, you can try making one of my favorite crafts at home: recycled crayons!              

I love making recycled crayons. They are a fun and easy way to use up those little broken crayon nubs that no one wants to color with (and we certainly end up with a lot of those at the museum)! Recycled crayons are perfect for making texture rubbing art and are fun eco-friendly party favors. They would also make lovely homegrown activity for the kids table at your next family function. Just cover the table in butcher paper and put one of these at each place setting!
  

How to make recycled melty crayons:

1. Peel the paper off of old broken crayons (this is a great kid project). We collect these broken bits in a bag as we find them. When we have a nice large selection, we get cooking!

2. Find a mold. I use a star shaped silicon cupcake pan. This makes is easy to remove the crayons and gives them a fun shape! You can also use a normal cupcake pan carefully lined with tin foil. (If you are not lining your pan you need to dedicate it to crayon making, as it will be very hard to get clean enough to use for cooking again!)  

3. Fill your molds. You may want to group colors together (different shades of green, pink and purple, or primary colors). You can also fill at random for crazy combinations. This is a great time for the kids to practice their color identification and sorting skills. I like to overfill my molds a bit as the crayons will meld down as they bake.

  

4. Bake your crayons at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes or until they are completely melted. (Enjoy the unique and strangely pleasant smell of crayons baking.)

5. Let them cool completely.



6. De-mold your crayons. If using a soft pan, you can carefully pop them out. If using a tin foil liner, peel off the foil.



Go one step further with your reusing and check out your local thrift store for great deals on fun mold shapes! Personally, I'm partial to the star. You can get several colors by rubbing it flat, or you can be more precise by just using one of the points.  

Happy recycled art week!