Plaster of Paris Art Project for Preschoolers

Plaster or Paris is a great way to make a quick art project for your kids. You can immortalize you're child's hand print or foot print forever.

The plaster is a quick drying building material that you mix with water to make a pliable mold that will dry to form a cement- type product.

Using plaster of Paris can be a fun weekend project for you and your children. You will forever have molds of their hands or feet to remember the innocence of youth.

Below you will find the instructions for making your child's hand print into a plaster of Paris mold.

In order to immortalize your child's small hand prints you will need to gather the following supplies.

• Plaster of Paris mix
• A large plastic bowl
• A stirrer (large spoon or paint mixer works well)
• An aluminum pie plate or a plastic lid
• A large paper clip
• Disposable latex gloves
• Permanent marker

* Tip- make sure to wear old clothes, as this project is a messy one.

Before starting the project make sure that you have a large bowl or container to mix the plaster in and a shallow, wide container to act as a mold for the handprint (an aluminum pie pan works great).

• Have an adult mix the plaster of Paris with water with a stirrer (paint stirrers work great because they can be disposed of when you're finished with the project).
• Make sure to make the plaster stiff and not creamy.

* You want to wear the latex gloves to protect your hands. You may also want to consider wearing a painter's mask to prevent breathing in the plaster dust and particles.

• Pour the plaster into the shallow, flat container.
• Have the child quickly put is hand in the wet plaster.
• Wash the child's hand immediately afterwards. The longer the plaster is on the child's hands, it can begin to burn the skin.
• Push a partly unfolded paper clip (the larger the better) into the plaster, or use something to make a small hole in the plaster, as this is how the dried hand print will hang on the wall.
• Let the plaster hand print dry completely, which usually takes about a day.
• Carefully take the mold out of the container.
• Write the date and age of the child on the back of the mold using the permanent marker. This way you will be able to remember this point in your child's life. (You know when he was young an innocent.)