Craft Time: Stalactite and Stalagmite Paint Drips
Stalactite and Stalagmite Paint Drips
Here’s an activity that families can do to dive deeper into the work of speleothems or cave formations. Inside a cave, formations that hang “tight” to the ceiling are called a “Stalactite”. The formations that “might” reach the ceiling are called a “Stalagmite”. Here at Cave of the Mounds, we have both types of formations. This craft is easy and very simple to do at home.
You will need: Stiff Paper (examples: cardstock, art paper, etc), Thick Paint or Colored Glue, Glitter (Optional), Stickers (Optional), Newspapers (Optional)
- Lay your piece of paper flat on some newspapers. (I use newspapers to easily clean up the craft at the end)
- Apply paint or glue to the long end top of the paper
- Tilt the paper to encourage the liquid to drip
- These drips will be the stalactites, so it’s okay if they’re a bit thin
- Once you have the desired look, set down the page back onto the newspaper
- OPTIONAL: Decorate glue or paint with glitter to represent all the tiny crystals that help form the solid structures
- Let the stalactites partially dry for several minutes before beginning on the stalagmites
- Repeat the process again with the paint or glue on the opposite long end of the paper. It is recommended that you should use a bit more solid drips on this side to represent the sturdy stalagmites
- Let the artwork dry
- Now you can draw, color, or use stickers to decorate your own personal cave!
