Getting to the Melting Point

  You could say that the members of the All Around All Stars 4-H Arts and Crafts Club are always crafty.  As a matter of fact when it came down to this month's project they were downright scientific (but shhhhhh! I don't think the members noticed).  Club leaders Jessica Drake and Tanya Underwood dressed this project up with beads, grommets, muffin tins, aluminum pans, and a colorful creativity that has everyone looking for the sun.
  Before they could get to the project they opened their business meeting with the pledges and introductions to two new club members, brother Tristan and Shepard Page.  Both boys are long time Summer Fun participants, and have raised animals as part of our animal science projects.  This is their first time joining a club and the members of the All Around All Stars were happy to welcome them.  After a brief business meeting it was time to get down to business.
  This month the club project is making sun catchers with Pony Beads.  This is a project we first found on Pinterest (and you can find on the Robeson County 4-H Pinterest Page) and worked with the members of the cloverbud day camp to create.  Since then Jessica has refined the project and our club members had a blast with it today.
  To do this each member picked the color bead combination they wanted and randomly placed a single layer of the beads in the bottom of an aluminum pan or muffin tin.  No need to spray the pans with anything becuase when this is done the pieces will pop right out.  After making sure there is a tight bottom layer of beads (too many and it will be lumpy, too few there will be holes) and making the the grommet was near an edge (as the beads melt around it they will hold the grommet in place and you will have a ready made hole to string the ribbon or fishing line through) the pans went into a preheated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.  Let us warn you, as the beads melt down there is a terrible stench.  It will go away but the plastic does not smell good as it melts so if you can open a window, you might want to.
  So as the beads were melting two science lessons were happening.  The youth learned how temperature can be used to change something from a solid to a liquid state and they learned how it can be used to grow things.  During the process the club visited the Embryology incubator in the lobby.  Mrs. Tanya talked with them about the process of hatching chicks from eggs and the youth got a chance to turn our eggs, just like a mother hen turns her eggs.  When everyone made it back into the kitchen they learned that by taking the now liquid beads out of the oven and applying cold water to the underside of the pans they were able to solidify their melted creations faster, making really awesome and one of a kind creations.
  After everything had cooled, and been taken out of their pans it was time to link it all together.  The group used all kids of ribbon or string to piece their sun catchers together.  They were very proud of their creations and each one took one home at the end of this meeting.  The All Around All Stars meets the first Thursday of each month starting at 5:30 pm.  If you would like more information about this club please contact the 4-H office at (910) 671-3276.