Science experiment: Sunlight paper

Officially called cyanotype paper (or sunlight/blueprints/sunprints) this stuff will fascinate and amuse kids as silhouettes magically appear in water and the paper transforms from white to bright blue. They’ll be looking everywhere for more things to “take a picture” of.

What you need:

• sunprint kit (available from IQ Toys)
• flat objects for your project. Examples are shape toys, handprints, puzzle pieces, paper shape cut outs.
• a sunny day

Number of players:

Activity:

Step 1. Open up your kit and peel away the acrylic sheet it comes with.

Step 2. Find something flattish to wedge in between the paper and the acrylic sheet.

Step 3. Expose it to the sun for a few minutes and watch as the paper changes colour to a really light blue.

Step 4. Remove your objects and you’ll be left with a dark blue silhouette of it.

Step 5. Pop it in water and watch it magically transform.

Step 6. The colours swap so you’re left with a white-ish silhouette on a dark blue background.

Notes:

• Some lemon juice in the water makes the blue even more vibrant.
• Anything too bulky that will create a shadow or too transparent such as feathers will not work.