Make a Tin Candle Luminary

Children and adults alike love light. Whether it's fireflies dancing in the twilight or twinkling Christmas tree lights, our eyes are drawn to light, so making a craft with light is guaranteed to win approval!

For thousands of years candlelight was the only indoor lighting. This activity will help your child experience the past by making a beautiful tin luminary, which filters candlelight through a pattern.  The resulting work of art will trace beautiful candlelit patterns on your walls!

• Tin can
• Permanent marker
• Water
• Freezer
• Towel
• Nails of various sizes
• Hammer
• Small tea light candles 

What You Do:

1. Make sure you pick a tin can that is smooth.  Peel off the label and wash it out with soap and warm water.  Dry it off.
2. Draw a design of dots on the can.   Keep the pattern simple - you will be making each dot a hole for candlelight to shine out of.
3. Fill the can with water and place it in the freezer overnight until frozen solid.
4. Take the frozen can out of the freezer and place it on a thick towel on its side.  You are now ready to nail the holes into your design. You can use nails of varying sizes as you experiment with your design.  (You may need to refreeze you lantern before you're done.)
5. After your pattern is finished, let your lantern sit in the sink to melt, or sit it in a bath of warm water.  Dry the can off, but be careful of the sharp edges on the inside from your nail holes.
6. Place a candle in the bottom of your lantern and light it to watch the pattern of light illuminated from within!

Did you know?

• Indoor lighting may have begun as long as 50,000 years ago, when cro-magnon man used a fiber wick in a triangular stone pot of animal fat to make a lamp.
• A person who makes candles is called a chandler.
• Candles today are made from gel, soy, beeswax and paraffin.