Science Smarts: Mother’s Day gift fun

By Patty Rooks on April 30, 2022.

Mother’s Day is fast approaching, and I am sure each and every one of us has someone special in our lives who we should celebrate on this special day.

One thing I know, there is nothing more special than when someone who makes me a gift. It really means a great deal to me. Throw in some science with that gift and well, you can just imagine how thrilled I will be. Here is a fun one to share with your loved ones no matter what the occasion may be.

Let’s get started!

*Remember to ask an adult before doing this experiment.

Materials

white T-shirt

assorted colours of permanent markers

rubber bands

rubbing alcohol

medicine dropper/pipette

plastic/disposable cups

newspaper or plastic disposable table cloth

Procedure

1. Cover your work area with newspaper or the plastic table cloth.

2. Take the T-shirt and use your imagination. Write something on it, draw a design, or make it tie-dye like (which I will focus on here).

3. Slide the cup between the two layers of the shirt.

4. Stretch one side of the fabric over the mouth of the cup VERY tight and secure this in place with a rubber band.

5. Use the permanent markers and make a design.

6. Repeat as many times as you wish to make a special shirt.

7. Fill the pipette with rubbing alcohol and place a few drops over your design until you have a pattern you like.

What is going on?

When you add the rubbing alcohol to the permanent marker, it should have spread out. The more drops you add, the more it will spread. On the other hand, if you were to do the same thing with water, NOTHING would happen. Permanent markers are hydrophobic which means it will not dissolve in water.

Keep an eye on our social media as we have officially kicked off our 30th anniversary celebrations this week. We cannot wait to have you take part.

Patty Rooks, Senior Scientific Consultant PRAXIS, “Connecting Science To The Community”. Contact Praxis at praxis@praxismh.ca, http://www.praxismh.ca, Tweet or follow us @PraxisMedHat, or friend us on Facebook. Address: #12 826 11 Street S. E., Medicine Hat, Alberta, T1A 1T7 Phone: 403.527.5365, email: praxis@praxismh.ca

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