Can you really paint with a
microwave?
Of course you can!
What you need:
- ½ cup flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp salt
- Food colouring or poster paint
- Water
- Paintbrush or squeezy bottles
- Thin cardboard
How to:
Ask an adult for help using the microwave.
1. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together.
2. Add enough water to make a paste.
3. Add a drop food colouring or poster paint to make the colours
you want.
4. Use paintbrushes or squeezy bottles to paint on the
cardboard. The thicker the paint, the puffier it will go!
5. Put the cardboard in the microwave for 20 seconds. Check to
see if the paint is dry and puffy. You may need to microwave the
cardboard a few times to get the paint to dry. Don't let it
burn!
You've got your very own puffy paint masterpiece!
What's happening?
When you heat up the paint, the baking soda reacts with the
water to make carbon dioxide. Bubbles of carbon dioxide make the
paint puffy. Can you see little dots in the paint? This is where
bubbles of carbon dioxide have escaped.
Heating up the paint makes it dry out, so you can put your
picture on the wall.
Thanks to Tinkerlab
for the inspiration.