Shrinky Dinks facts for kids
Shrinky Dinks butterflies.
|
|
| Other names | Shrinkles |
|---|---|
| Type | Toy and activity kit |
| Inventor(s) | Betty Morris and Kate Bloomberg |
| Country | United States |
| Materials | Polystyrene plastic |
Shrinky Dinks (also known as "Shrinkles") are a super fun toy and activity kit. They come with special plastic sheets. You can cut these sheets with regular scissors. When you heat them, something amazing happens! The cut shapes become about nine times thicker. They also shrink to about one-third of their original size. This makes them hard, flat, and keeps their original colors. Shrinky Dinks were super popular in the 1980s. Most kits have pictures already printed on them. You color these pictures before you bake them.
Contents
The Story Behind Shrinky Dinks
How Shrinky Dinks Were Invented
Shrinky Dinks were invented in 1973. Two creative housewives, Betty Morris and Kate Bloomberg, came up with the idea. They lived in Brookfield, Wisconsin. They first made Shrinky Dinks as a project for their sons' Cub Scout group.
Becoming a Popular Toy
The very first kits were sold at a local shopping mall. People loved them right away! They became very popular. Soon, big toy companies wanted to make them. Companies like Milton Bradley and Colorforms started making Shrinky Dinks. You can still find the special plastic sheets today. People use them for many cool things, like making charms and pins.
How Shrinky Dinks Work
The Special Plastic
The main material in Shrinky Dinks is a thin, flexible plastic. It's called polystyrene plastic, often marked with a #6 recycling symbol. Before you heat the plastic, you can color it. You can use felt-tip pens, acrylic paint, or colored pencils.
Heating and Shrinking
It's important to use the right coloring tools. Oily or waxy things, like some crayons or oil paint, don't work well. They might melt or burn when heated. To shrink your designs, you can use an Easy-Bake Oven, a regular oven, or a heat gun. As the plastic heats up, it shrinks down. It also becomes much thicker and stronger. The best part is that your colored design stays exactly the same!
Creative Uses for Shrinky Dinks
Fun for All Ages
Shrinky Dinks are mostly known as an arts and crafts product for kids. But many adults also love them! Crafters and artists use them for making jewelry and other projects. You can buy blank sheets of the plastic in large amounts. This has made Shrinky Dinks a serious art material for some artists.
Shrinky Dinks in Science and Art Therapy
Shrinky Dinks have even been used in surprising ways. In 2008, a professor named Michelle Khine at the University of California, Irvine used them. She made tiny structures for something called microfluidics. This helps with things like stem cell research.
In 2009, a class at Emporia State University looked at using Shrinky Dinks in art therapy. Art therapy helps people express themselves through art. In 2014, Shrinky Dinks were shown as an art therapy tool at a big conference.
Also in 2014, a team from Harvard University and MIT used Shrinky Dinks. They used them to create tiny robots that could put themselves together!
A Band's Name Change
Did you know a famous band once had a name related to Shrinky Dinks? In 1992, the California rock band Sugar Ray first formed. Their original name was "Shrinky Dinx." But they had to change it! The company that made Shrinky Dinks, Milton Bradley Company, asked them to.
