The National Inventors Hall of Fame aims to inspire young innovators everywhere. Show your child how fun STEM can be with this activity! Let your creativity flow as you explore principles of fluid dynamics to create a one-of-a-kind gift. Dip a canvas panel or ceramic tile into a swirl of spray paint to reveal a beautiful masterpiece.
Materials Needed
- Large bin or bucket
- Canvas panels or ceramic tiles with a matte finish (8 by 10 inches or smaller)
- Disposable gloves
- Enamel spray paint in various colors
- Paper towels
- Particulate mask
- Plastic drop cloth or old plastic tablecloth
- Safety goggles
- Water
Instructions
- Find a well-ventilated area. Place your “tarp” on your working surface or floor. Select a large bin or bucket large enough to submerge the canvas or tile and fill it three-quarters full of water.
- Wear clothing you don’t mind getting messy. Wear a pair of disposable gloves to protect your hands, safety goggles to protect your eyes and an inexpensive particulate mask to protect your lungs.
- Choose your favorite colors of spray paint and spray the surface of the water in your bin or bucket. Choose another color of spray paint and spray some more! Continue until you are satisfied with the look of the paint on the surface of the water.
- Slowly lower the canvas or tile at an angle so the paint adheres to the surface of the canvas or tile.
- Once the canvas or tile has been entirely dipped through the paint, pull it out of the water. If you don’t want any more paint on your tile or canvas, pull it through the surface of the water where there is not much paint. Then set it aside to dry.
- Experiment with different paint colors to see what happens! Try moving or swirling the colors before dipping.
- Let your gift dry and wrap it for delivery!
What Did We Learn?
The spray paint floats because oil and water separate when combined. The Archimedes principle explains this phenomenon, and states that “the buoyant force on an object submerged in a fluid is equal to the weight of the fluid that is displaced by that object.” Because oil is less dense than water, this causes the oil-based spray paint to skim on top of the water.
Many inventors draw inspiration from the arts. For example, National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductee Samuel Morse, who invented Morse code and the telegraph, was a portrait painter!
National Inventors Hall of Fame® (NIHF) connects inventors who have built the world around us with the innovators of tomorrow. Ready to use your imagination and put creative problem-solving skills into action? Visit Invent.org.
