Specimens in Clear Casting Resin: Cicadas and Bees
Have you heard or even seen a cicada? I grew up in Utah and never even heard of one my whole life. We moved to North Carolina in 2012 and it was our first experience with cicadas. We went on a family walk at Cape Fear Trail. The forests and woods were echoing with the sounds of blaring alarms. We had no idea what was making the sound...until we asked a local. Cicadas! They come out and screech for about a week or two. Amazing gigantic creatures. The next year we lived in Alabama...my son and husband went camping and they said the cicadas kept them awake all night. They are loud all chirping together in a eerie melody.
A couple years ago we had a beehive with thousands of bees...unfortunately in the winter they all died. I saved several little bodies to memorialize our bees from that year. Casting insect husks or dead bodies in resin is a great way to teach children about insects without worrying about the fragile nature of the molted skins and bodies. Great for a STEM activity too!
Supplies Needed:
(affiliate links)
EasyCast Clear Casting EpoxyCasting Molds
Insect bodies or Molted husks
Stirring Sticks, Mixing cups, Disposable gloves and work surface
Read the directions for the EasyCast resin and mix according to the 2 phase directions. Failing to mix properly will cause the resin to not set properly. Pour about 1/4 inch thick of resin in each mold. Pop the bubbles that form after 20 minutes and then place the insects right on top.
Let the resin cure for a couple of hours. Then mix up more resin and fill the mold. Again, pop any bubbles that form after 20 minutes by blowing gently on them with a straw.
Same process as above for the cicada husks. I'm going to be fully honest and just say, I touched these guys with my bare hands and it gave me the gross outs! They are super fragile and delicate, so I wanted to be very careful...but they are super creepy to touch! Regardless, let the resin dry and cure for a couple of days.
After waiting a few days, pop the resin out of each mold and enjoy studying the intricacies of the insects. So interesting to examine the different body parts and little details. Perfect for homeschool, summer crafts and S.T.E.A.M. crafts. This is a perfect combination of Science and Art. --and if you are really smart, you can throw in the technology, engineering and math too!
It's estimated that there are over 10 Quintillion insects on the planet...so really, I have no issue encasing them in resin to stack on books or study. Take your kids/students/self on an insect adventure walk and see what interesting bugs you can find to immortalize in resin.
Check out this Resin Beetle post too:
Beetles in Resin
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What do you think? Could you stand making these?
Check out this amazing Paint Pouring project on a serving tray...it's coated with resin for a high gloss shine finish!
This post published on Doodlecraft first
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