Every now and then we take a break from homemade slime to try out other kinds of cool STEM activities, and this is our latest! Can you believe this Earth Day recycled craft uses egg cartons! So easy to make, fun to wear, recycled materials, and a bit of chemistry too! This is the PERFECT Earth Day STEAM idea!

EASY EARTH DAY RECYCLED CRAFTS WITH PLASTIC EGG CARTONS

Every now and them we take a break from slime to try out other kinds of cool STEM activities, and this is our latest! Can you believe this Earth Day recycled STEM craft activity uses egg cartons! So easy to make, fun to wear, recycled materials, and a bit of chemistry too! This is the PERFECT Earth Day STEAM idea!Pin

PLASTIC EGG CARTON CRAFT IDEAS

Get ready to add this colorful Earth Day craft to your lesson plans this season. If you want to learn more about combining art and science for fun hands-on STEAM, let’s grab the supplies! While you’re at it, make sure to check out these other fun spring activities.

Who doesn’t love a good egg carton craft activity? I know we have at least one of these in our recycling bin every week. This Earth Day recycled craft project is perfect even for kids who don’t like crafts or adults who don’t think they are crafty enough.

Find out how plastic egg cartons can be transformed into a cute recycled Earth Day craft for kids of all ages.

earth day STEM craft necklace project with beadsPin

RECYCLED EARTH DAY CRAFT

What do you need for an Earth Day recycled STEM craft? Recyclables of course! Make sure to check your recycling bin for your supplies! If you want to read a little bit more about the science behind the craft make sure to scroll all the way down!

YOU WILL NEED:

  • Plastic Egg Container
  • Sharpies
  • Twine
  • Hole Puncher
  • Parchment Paper
  • Baking Tray

Earth Day Recycled STEM Activity Supplies Recycled CraftPin

HOW TO MAKE PLASTIC EGG CARTON CRAFT

Adult supervision and assistance is recommended for this project.

STEP 1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

STEP 2. Start by cutting apart the individual egg cups from the plastic egg container. Trim around them carefully so they look like a small cup. You want to get the edges as smooth as possible.

Recycled Egg Carton Craft for Earth DayPin

STEP 3. Use your sharpies to color the cups in any design you want! Or choose to make the Earth, blue for the oceans and green for the continents.

Tip: Use the flat side of the marker, not the tip to apply more even color. You want to fill in as much of the clear space as possible!

Colorful recycled Egg Carton Craft for Earth Day ActivitiesPin

Earth Day STEM Activity with Polymer Science Pin

STEP 4. Make sure to punch a hole in the egg cup before baking. We did try to do this after baking the first batch but had a great deal of difficulty making the holes and broke a few of the cups too.

Prepping Earth Day STEM Craft by punching holes in plastic egg carton cups that will be meltedPin

STEP 5. Now place your cups on a baking tray lined with parchment. Pop them in the 300-degree oven for approximately 3 minutes, but make sure to watch the process unfold! It’s neat to see the egg cups curl up and then flatten down again.

Note: You may want to turn the vent on to help with any smell, but we did not find it very strong.

Applying heat to plastic science experiment for chemistryPin

STEP 6. Carefully take the tray out of the oven. They do not stick to parchment so don’t worry about moving them immediately! Let them cool.

STEP 7. Then grab your twine and even some beads to create a necklace or even a small sun catcher to hang in the window!

Making recycled STEAM craft for Earth Day out of egg cartonsPin

Such an easy and fun activity to sit and enjoy with your kiddos this Earth Day! We combined some great parts of STEAM for this Earth Day recycled STEM craft activity with chemistry and art.

I am always happy when I can sneak in a bit of art or craftiness to a project with a kid who isn’t generally into crafts!

EARTH DAY SCIENCE

This awesome little recyclable project for Earth Day includes a bit of physics and chemistry. Chemistry is all about substances and their properties and what makes them what they are including atoms and molecules. Melting the cup does not actually change it’s chemical make up but rather it is a physical change which I talk about more below.

Did you know plastic is a polymer (just like our leakproof bag experiment or our homemade slime recipes)? A polymer is a molecule made up of many repeating strands. Polymers have different characteristics including density, strength and, solubility among others. Did you know you can make plastic from milk too?

The plastic egg container is a type of thermoplastic or plastic that can be heated and reshaped which is known as a physical change (not chemical). This is how we are able to make our plastic egg carton craft! The polymer chains of this type of plastic are bonded together weakly so that when high heat is introduced, the bonds break. However, the bonds reform as the plastic cools into its new shape! Thermoplastics are easily recyclable too!

ALSO CHECK OUT: Recycling Projects For Kids

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Looking for easy to print activities, and inexpensive problem-based challenges?

We have you covered…

Click below to get your quick and easy STEM challenges.

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RECYCLABLE PROJECTS FOR EARTH DAY

FUN EGG CARTON RECYCLING PROJECT

Click on the link or on the image below for more Earth Day activities.

Hands on Earth Day Activities for kidsPin

3 Comments

  1. Pingback: Earth Day STEM Activities and Challenges for Kids
  2. Pingback: 21 Easy Earth Day Activities For Kids | Little Bins for Little Hands
  3. This looks fantastic! I know my kids will love this. Thank you so much for the idea and all the tips on how to do it! Do you think this would work with plastic from a soda bottle? I’m just trying to think to use what I have on hand.

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