How many of the products that we use everyday are made from paper? Maybe too many to count! Maybe you are a student and use paper everyday to take notes and write papers. However, paper is used for much more than just writing or drawing. Today, paper has a nearly limitless list of uses including making money, packaging goods, and even to make fireworks!
The following activities will help you make your own paper and discover some of the properties of different types of paper. We hope you enjoy these activities and do them together as a family.
Activities
Making Paper
Can you make your own paper at home? Of course you can! This activity guides you through the entire process from making of the deckle and mold (used to form the sheets) to making the slurry (the paper mixture).
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Paper Chromatography
What can we discover about ink using paper? Using the special paper that you make, you can discover some special things about ink. Ink may look only one color to you, but it is really made of many colors mixed together and you can see these using your paper!
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Microscope Activity
What does paper look like up close? In this activity, you examine paper up close using a microscope and see just how different it looks! You may also discover that paper used for different purposes that seem similar look very different from a closer point of view.
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Investigating the Strength of Paper
Different types of paper are used for different applications, but why? For example, the paper used for shopping bags is not the same used for tissues and vice versa. In this activity, you can examine how paper differs in its strength and structure.
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Paper Towel Strength and Absorbency
Last time you spilled your drink, what did you use to clean it up? Most likely you grabbed a paper towel rather than a piece of notebook paper. Therefore, there must be something special about paper towels and you can discover that in this activity.
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Red Cabbage pH Paper
Can paper be made from food in your fridge? Yes, you actually can with red cabbage! In this activity you learn about acids and bases. You can use you red cabbage paper that you make to find out whether solutions in your home are either acids or bases!
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