Sun Catcher

Capture rays of sunlight with this beautiful home-made creation!

Skill Level: Moderate

Time Needed: 1/2 hour

Age(s): 6 to 11

Appropriate For: Mother's Day

Supplies Needed:

Project Rating:

Pour 1/3 cup of Elmer's Washable No-Run School Glue™ into a small bowl.
Add 5 drops of food coloring to the glue and stir well. The mixture will dry darker than it appears when wet.
Pour a thin layer of the glue mixture into the lid from the margarine or butter container. Fill the lid about halfway to the top.
Lightly sprinkle glitter over the mixture. Add small flowers (optional) for addtional decoration.
Cover the glitter and the flowers with more of the glue mixture. Fill the lid to the top.
Let the glue dry until it is completely solid. This usually takes 2-4 days.
Pop out the suncatcher from the lid.
Cut a small hole in the top of the suncatcher with a pair of scissors.
Attach some string, and hang your suncatcher in a well-lit window. Watch what happens!

Teaching Tips:

Suncatchers have been a part of people's culture for many years. Some people believe in Native Americans in the Southwest region of the United States were the first people to create suncatchers. Have students research and write a report on the history of suncatchers and their uses.
Discuss the diffusion of light. Talk about how light from the sun travels in a straight line until it hits an object. Then, the light is either reflected (bounced back), refracted (changed direction), or absorbed. When the sun's light hits a suncatcher, the light is reflected and bounces off of the suncatcher and against a wall. Ask students to describe examples of light being refracted and absorbed.
Have students do all of the measuring for this project. Provide them with different measuring tools and encourage them to measure other things around the classroom. Discuss the use of fractions when working with measurements.