Virtual Family Art & Science Encounters: Fossils and Casts, Exploring Mold Making at Home

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Inspired by cast sculptures and bones in the online exhibition Janus: There’s More to What You See (opens in a new window), this activity explores molds and casts. 

Participants will collect natural materials, man-made materials, or even make small sculptures, and experiment with making press molds out of salt dough and their objects.  After baking their salt-dough sculptures participants can press more unbaked salt dough into the negative mold to make a positive replica of the original. This process is repeatable as many times as the participant wants. That’s the point! They’ll be encouraged to make many molds and casts, and repeat casting with the same mold, or making a mold of a cast to see the loss of detail. The level of difficulty is suitable for small children, but they will need an adult to bake the dough.

This activity is a collaboration between the Kennedy Museum of Art and the OHIO Museum Complex. Project by Carrie Summerford and Leah Myerholtz.

Post your creations on our Facebook group “Kennedy Museum of Art Experiences Group” (https://www.facebook.com/groups/kennedymuseumartedu (opens in a new window)) or tag us on Instagram @kennedymuseumartedu (opens in a new window)