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What are crayons made of? |
by Mya Kagan (whyzz writer) >> more about the author
There are two main things used to create a crayon: Wax and color!
To make a crayon, the crayon factory heats up a bunch of wax in a big tank and adds in the dye (pigment) that will give the crayon its color. When the wax is really hot like this it becomes liquid-like, so the machines can pour the hot liquid wax into small molds that are in the shape of your crayons! Once the hot wax has been poured into its molds it cools down and hardens into crayons! The factory then labels the crayons, packs them into a box, and ships them to a store where you can buy the crayons and bring them home.
Most crayons are made from paraffin wax (instead of other waxes, like beeswax). Paraffin wax comes from plants, which make wax on their leaves and stems naturally, and leave it behind when they die and decompose. The paraffin wax is then useful to us for crayons, candles, and more!
Paraffin wax is extracted from plants that died millions and millions of years ago. Under the ground, the heat and pressure turns the dead plants into petroleum; when petroleum is pumped out from within the earth, the wax is there with it!
Liquid crayons!
If you find it hard to believe that the stuff which makes a crayon could ever be a liquid, try out this experiment at home to see for yourself the way that heat turns a crayon into something gooey!
Take a small piece of a crayon and put it into a paper bowl that can be thrown away. Leave this paper bowl on a very sunny windowsill at the beginning of a hot day.
After a couple of hours, check back and see what’s happening to your crayon. Is the crayon… melting?? If the windowsill is hot enough, the heat and light of the sun will melt your crayon down into a sticky, gooey substance that is almost like a liquid! You’ll want to be very careful with this melted liquid crayon, since it might be hot to touch and very messy, too.
Take the paper bowl containing the hot melted crayon out of the sunny windowsill and leave it some place cooler for a few hours. When the melted crayon has cooled down, do you find that it’s hard and solid again?? Since it doesn’t have a mold it won’t return to its original shape and you’ll probably have to throw it away in the bowl, but now you’ll have seen a true crayon transformation!
To make a crayon, the crayon factory heats up a bunch of wax in a big tank and adds in the dye (pigment) that will give the crayon its color. When the wax is really hot like this it becomes liquid-like, so the machines can pour the hot liquid wax into small molds that are in the shape of your crayons! Once the hot wax has been poured into its molds it cools down and hardens into crayons! The factory then labels the crayons, packs them into a box, and ships them to a store where you can buy the crayons and bring them home.
Most crayons are made from paraffin wax (instead of other waxes, like beeswax). Paraffin wax comes from plants, which make wax on their leaves and stems naturally, and leave it behind when they die and decompose. The paraffin wax is then useful to us for crayons, candles, and more!
Paraffin wax is extracted from plants that died millions and millions of years ago. Under the ground, the heat and pressure turns the dead plants into petroleum; when petroleum is pumped out from within the earth, the wax is there with it!
Liquid crayons!
If you find it hard to believe that the stuff which makes a crayon could ever be a liquid, try out this experiment at home to see for yourself the way that heat turns a crayon into something gooey!
Take a small piece of a crayon and put it into a paper bowl that can be thrown away. Leave this paper bowl on a very sunny windowsill at the beginning of a hot day.
After a couple of hours, check back and see what’s happening to your crayon. Is the crayon… melting?? If the windowsill is hot enough, the heat and light of the sun will melt your crayon down into a sticky, gooey substance that is almost like a liquid! You’ll want to be very careful with this melted liquid crayon, since it might be hot to touch and very messy, too.
Take the paper bowl containing the hot melted crayon out of the sunny windowsill and leave it some place cooler for a few hours. When the melted crayon has cooled down, do you find that it’s hard and solid again?? Since it doesn’t have a mold it won’t return to its original shape and you’ll probably have to throw it away in the bowl, but now you’ll have seen a true crayon transformation!
- “Where does wax come from?” Candle Making. General Wax & Candle Company. 21 Nov. 2010
- “Where do the raw materials for crayons come from?” Can We Help. 2009. Crayola. 21 Nov. 2010
- “How Crayola Crayons are made.” Preview the Experience. The Crayola Factory. 21 Nov. 2010
- Video: Crayons. Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. PBS Kids. 21 Nov. 2010