What Can Glue Do: Stained Glass Planets

by Becky Griffith, STEAM Educator

Have you ever wanted to liven up your windows by adding your own stained glass decorations? Let’s look at a fun, safe and assessible way to add some color to your windows. We will use school glue, tissue paper, wax paper, and a few other art supplies to make planets to hang in your window and resembles stained glass.

Before we get messy, let’s look at what glue is made of. Glue is like a magical, viscous liquid that helps things stick together. School glue is often made from something called polyvinyl acetate; this is what makes the glue stick together. Imagine glue as a chain of people holding hands. When we put glue on something, like a piece of paper or tissue paper, the people spread out and grab onto the surface. Then, as the glue dries, the people hold on tight and keep everything stuck together! This happens because the water in the glue evaporates, which means it disappears into the air. As the water goes away, the glue molecules hold onto each other and onto the paper and tissue paper pieces even tighter.

This makes glue an excellent material to help make our stained glass. To understand this process, we must look at the opacity of our materials. Tissue paper is transparent, allowing some light to pass through. When school glue is wet, it appears opaque and white, but as it dries, it transforms into a transparent adhesive that allows light to pass through. This transparency is essential for creating the stained glass effect, as it allows the vibrant colors of the tissue paper to shine through.

Pairs Nicely With:

Look Up with Me: Neil deGrasse Tyson: A Life Among the Stars, by Jennifer Berne

Grades K – 3

Materials:

• Wax paper
• Tissue paper in a variety of xolors
• School glue
• Scissors
• Permanent maker
• Paintbrush
• Variety of circular lids to trace
• Clear tape

Activity:

1. Place a sheet of wax paper on a flat surface.
2. Using a circular lid, trace a circle with a permanent marker.
3. Flip the wax paper to the other side. This will make sure that no dye from the permanent marker will mix with our stained glass.
4. Make a blob of glue in the center of your circle. This should be a generous amount and be able to cover the entire circle.
5. Spread the school glue out using a paint brush. It is ok to go outside of the outline, we will trim the edges down later.
6. Tear up pieces of tissue paper. Try only using two to three colors per planet. Pieces of tissue can be in strips or in chunks.
7. Place your pieces of tissue on top of the glue. It is ok to go outside of the outline, we will trim the edges down later.
8. For results similar to the picture, only add one to two layers of tissue paper. Remember, the more layers you add, the opaquer the planets will be.
9. Add another blob of glue on top of your tissue paper.
10. Using the paintbrush, spread the glue so all of the tissue is covered and saturated with glue.
11. Let the glue and tissue paper dry overnight.
12. After the stained glass is dry, use scissors to cut around the circles to make your planets.
13. Separate the wax paper from the dried glue with your fingers.
14. Your planets are ready! Hang them in any window using clear tape.

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Becky Griffith is a licensed K -12 art educator and has taught video game design camps and workshops with NIU Outreach for the past decade.