Make wax-resist watercolor paintings or decorated eggs! The wax forms a barrier to keep the paint or dye from getting through. Why does this work? Think of your best answer, then read our explanation below.
What You’ll Need
wax or soy crayons
paper or a hard-boiled egg
water color paints or dyes
What to Do
Use a wax or soy crayon (not a washable crayon) to draw on paper or on a hard-boiled egg.
Then paint it with watercolor paints or dye it.
How It Works
Water and dye molecules in the paint are polar (positively charged at one end and negatively charged at the other). But wax is not very polar and has no charge. Water molecules are more attracted to each other than to wax. So they go where other water molecules go—for example, between the fibers of the paper and into the eggshell—but on the wax they just bead up.
