I recently took my daughter, Nell, to Fry’s Electronics here in town. I’ve been wanting to get her a home science kit, something with age-appropriate experiments in physics, nature and the like. My wife and I have always tried to stress hands-on activities with our kids over watching television or playing games on the computer, and science kits like the one I brought home provide many hours of learning fun. My daughter loves activities like this; we’ve been doing them since she was very young.
One of the earliest projects we did with her was sculpture casting. She began learning American Sign Language when she was about 10 months old (seriously, she was that young!) and when she was old enough to be patient for a few minutes at a time, we decided to cast her hand. We used a DIY body sculpture kit, which is great for casting hands. The kit made things simple, which is important when you’re asking a three-year-old to make a sign and hold it.
The process was easy, even for someone who had never tried it before. We mixed up the molding powder with water in a plastic cup big enough to hold Nell’s hand. We had her make the sign for “I love you”, and then put her hand into the molding cup. A few minutes later, he pulled her hand out of the rubbery mold, and we mixed up the casting powder with some more water. We poured the casting solution into the mold, and wouldn’t you know it – about an hour later we had a permanent reminder of our daughter sitting on our shelf.
Advice for body casting:
- Make sure your child can hold still for a few minutes at a time. The mold is forgiving, but too much wiggling can throw the whole thing off.
- Make sure you have plenty of space to work with. The process isn’t very messy, but working on a clean table with enough space can make it more comfortable.
- It’s best to lay down some newspaper or an old cloth on your work surface. Nothing will get damaged from the materials you’re using, but it helps with cleanup in the case of spilled powders or water.
Much like a photo or a painting, statues and sculptures are great ways to preserve memories of your loved ones. Casting your little one’s hand performing a sign is a treasure!
