Step One: Gather materials.
- Cooked pasta noodles.
- Neon paint.
- Water.
- Bowls/spoons.
- A blacklight.
Step Two: Begin by cooking the pasta noodles as the user normally would. A variety of noodles can be used for this activity. Pictured is spaghetti noodles.
Step Three: Divide the noodles into zip-seal bags, using one bag for each color of pasta that the user has made.
Step Four: Add 1 teaspoon of neon paint to each bag, using more or less paint as desired.
Step Five: Add 2-3 tablespoons of water. This helps to coat the noodles in color while allowing the user to use less paint.
Step Six: Seal the bags, and then give them to the child to mix, shake and knead.
Step Seven: Continue to mix the ingredients inside of the bags until all of the noodles are fully saturated in color.
Step Eight: Then, open the bags and allow the noodles to dry for 15-20 minutes.
Step Nine: Pour the child’s glowing pasta noodles into a large bin or container. At this point, the child begins to engage in free play.
Step Ten (optional): Add toys, treasure, alphabet letters, cups, bowls, glow sticks and more to the colored noodles.
Ideas for Play:
- Have kids sort the noodles by color.
- Paint with glowing spaghetti noodles.
- Open up a pretend noodle restaurant.
- Give the child scissors so that they can practice their scissor skills.
- Dig for glowing worms.
- To do this bury some glowing spaghetti in dirt and the child begins digging.
Tips & Resources:
- Store the glowing spaghetti in an air-tight container in the fridge. It can be used for up to one week.
- For the best effect, the user will want to use a blacklight for this activity. They can use a blacklight and/or Ultra Violet-flashlights.