Sun Prints

This is a great activity to do in the summer. I bought this Sun Print paper from Amazon. You can use any objects you want, but keep these points in mind: If the object is too light, it may blow away or move around. If the object is too thick, it will create a shadow. If you aren't fast enough when putting the objects down, or if you rearrange them, it will not work as well. You need to be fast! That said, this is how we did it. I took 4 kids outside at a time. They were able to choose some foam shapes.

I held onto the special paper, still in it's black pouch, while I explained the directions. As soon as I gave them their paper they were to put on their foam shapes, slap down their hand in the middle, and NOT MOVE! After just a few seconds you could see the blue paper fading to white. After about 2 minutes I grabbed the paper and flipped it upside down so it would no longer be exposed to the sun and we went inside. Then I filled a plastic container with water and rinsed the paper (following the instructions). During this time, the lighter blue changed back to dark blue and the dark blue shapes changed to white, or lighter blue. As they dried, they got darker and darker. These were the results:

I don't think they turned out as well as in the past. I've never used this brand before and I've never used foam shapes or hand prints before. In the past we've used heavier objects and did it in the shade so there wouldn't be shadows. Maybe the foam pieces were too light and that's why they aren't as white. Maybe some light actually got underneath them. I don't know. The kit does come with a plastic cover to put over your objects, so you can use flowers and leaves, but it only comes with one and I didn't want to take the kids outside one at a time. I do think these would be cool with stars and planets and other space objects. I would love to do it for my Space theme, but I always do that in winter. Yes, we have sun in winter, but we also have snow and very low temperatures. Not exactly the best time to do a sun experiment outside!