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UK Mum
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| Posted: Feb 15 2008 at 11:47am | IP Logged
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...i have no idea where to post this...
dd aged 5 is currently working on a moon journal. I thought it might be fun to make a model of the surface landscape...using plaster of paris? Has anyone else done this? can anyone offer tips, or know of any websites?
thank you
Lynn
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MaryM
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Lynn, I moved it to this forum since its a nature/science topic.
Sounds like a great hands-on project.
Personally I would probably use a different medium - something that she could mold like Crayola Model Magic (which is an air dry clay) or paper-mache. That way you could more easily make craters and other moon surface features. Plaster of paris basically just conforms to the mold it is poured into and has a flat surface. Though if you managed to catch it right before it was hardening you could drop marbles or something onto it to get a crater effect.
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MaryM
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| Posted: Feb 15 2008 at 12:09pm | IP Logged
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And this site does have directions for a "moon surface box" that is made using plaster of paris.
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Mary M. in Denver
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lapazfarm
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We've had fun modeling crater formation by throwing pebbles at a tray of flour. It wouldn't be permanent, though.
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MacBeth
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We've done it with slushy ice in a kiddie pool--very impressive. Looks like Europa or Ganymede when it hits.
I'm thinking it might work (a few trials would be in order) if the plaster were just the right consistency between hard and soft. There are some good instructions here.
Funny...I was just thinking about this as I was looking at this site for snow cover images, and saw the lovely annulated Manicouagan crater lake in Quebec.
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montessori_lori
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This wouldn't last very long, but it's fun & delicious! We made a moon cake using a soccer ball-shaped cake pan (found at Hobby Lobby). We decorated it with gray icing (white with black icing paste coloring) to look like the moon, and added a tiny American flag and an astronaut. It was awesome!
We did it for my son's birthday cake (putting the half-moon on a larger sheet cake), but you could do it as a science project and actually re-create the craters, etc.
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UK Mum
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| Posted: Feb 16 2008 at 2:19am | IP Logged
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MaryM wrote:
Personally I would probably use a different medium - something that she could mold like Crayola Model Magic (which is an air dry clay) or paper-mache. That way you could more easily make craters and other moon surface features. Plaster of paris basically just conforms to the mold it is poured into and has a flat surface. Though if you managed to catch it right before it was hardening you could drop marbles or something onto it to get a crater effect. |
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Mary, this was the reason i requested help...i havent used plaster of paris before & wondered how this would work out...how long does PoP take to dry? I just bought a big bucket of the stuff! LOL! I may look into paper mache...
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UK Mum
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| Posted: Feb 16 2008 at 2:22am | IP Logged
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Theresa, what a great idea! we must try that :)
MacBeth, another great idea, but it is freezing here at the momment...I take it yours was outdoors? & where did you get all the ice?
Lori, again a fab idea. Do you have a photo of it?
Thank you again ladies
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MaryM
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UK Mum wrote:
| ...i havent used plaster of paris before & wondered how this would work out...how long does PoP take to dry? |
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Drying time depends on several factors like size of the mold and temp & humidity of room. It usually firms up in 15-30 minutes (but then takes up to 24 hours to actually completely dry through before using). It's just kind of tricky to catch at the right point to be able to leave an impression. When it is first mixed and poured it is really runny and wouldn't hold an impression at all. It stays like that for awhile - then pretty rapidly it becomes firmer - you have only a short window of time when it is able to take an impression before it becomes too hard to imprint. Like MacBeth said experimenting with it several times you could probably find the right time. The more I think about it, I do think it would give a neat texture for a moonscape if you were able to get the timing down for the crater impressions (and sprinkling small "moon rocks" over the top before it completely dries).
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MacBeth
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| Posted: Feb 16 2008 at 11:32am | IP Logged
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UK Mum wrote:
MacBeth, another great idea, but it is freezing here at the momment...I take it yours was outdoors? & where did you get all the ice?
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Lynn, the ice was just snow that had accumulated in the small pool. melted a bit, and then froze and began to melt again. It was outdoors, and the conditions were just perfect. There was water under the layer of slushy ice, and when the "meteor" broke the surface, the water made a nice smooth line in the rough slushy exterior.
Here's the catch: The weather conditions just happened to be perfect for this unplanned project. But, if it's cold enough, you might be able to do it once a nice layer of ice forms on a small pond, or large puddle. Just don't fall in yourself!
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UK Mum
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MacBeth wrote:
Just don't fall in yourself! |
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We ended up doing papier mache, today. It is still drying, so hopoefully we will get to paint it tomorrow. Mary, I decided pop may be a bit tricky, getting it *just* right. Will wait & see how it is when dried.
fingers crossed!
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MacBeth
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I'd love to see photos of the finished project... 
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MacBeth in NY
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UK Mum
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will do
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4Real Forums : Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
Topic: Moon landscape model..
